The Misadventures of a Socially Awkward Hunter
by DownSmashJon
Summary: There are many things needed to become a hero. The Strength to overcome the challenges ahead of you. The Knowledge to chose the right path to walk on. The Courage to act upon our decisions; good or bad. But there's something that everyone seems to forget about wanting to become a hero:...Social Skills. My name is Red Eerf, and this this my misadventure through Beacon Academy.
1. Cringe Worthy Beginning

**Oh man, I've been reading a lot of fanfiction lately, mainly RWBY OC fanfics. Most were entertaining, however the only problem with these fics, the OC (a.k.a protagonist) always ends up with plot armor and usually curb stomps everyone. But I digress, this is my first story, and I need feedback from you, the readers, (positive or negative please, I don't want flames!). Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Well, here I am...hiding in one of the male washroom stalls in the middle of an airship that's heading towards Beacon Academy, one of the best combat schools known in Remnant that specializes in training the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses. Dust, why did I accept Ozpin's invitation to go here...

On second thought, how on Remnant did I even get into THIS situation? Standing in of the recently "used" stalls and waiting as if the entire ship was going to blow up. It's times like this where I just want to die and be forgotten like one of those famous online music videos I would watch on my scroll. (Oh man, _What does the Grimm Say_ was amusing while it lasted). I internally sighed, as I already knew the answer to my rhetorical question: I felt nervous being around people, especially when said people were the same age as me.

If I viewed my life as a video game, my social skill would be mediocre, while my physical and intellectual skills would be so high that I'm positive that I could have restarted and grinded those skill levels at least twice. But this is reality; there would be no "extra lives" or "saving before an important event". No, if you mess up, you're screwed, and you should feel bad for yourself as the never-aging being known as "Life", begins wailing on your sorry excuse of an ass. I'm not saying this as life-and-death scenarios, no, I'm saying something much worse that; its very embodiment is pure sadistic and unforgiving: I'm talking about social interaction.

There really isn't much to say my life; then again I hate talking about myself, so my "whole" story is going to go end up extremely condensed. I could say that I was the one of the unlucky few who was born into this world with the chronic disease known as _shyness_. I mean - having nothing to say is one thing, but not knowing _what_ to say was something that I've had to deal with since childhood. You know that kid who just stands all by himself in the schoolyard? Well, I'm that kid; now let me share with you a grand life lesson that I've had the pleasure to learn the hard way: _he who is shy grows up to be socially awkward..._or whatever that fortune cookie said.

Do you have any idea what it's like to feel socially awkward? Honestly, it's a nightmare; just standing there with nothing but your insecurities and anxieties, as every waking moment passes and the rising urge to be alone yearns to become a reality. But do you that one thing that being socially deprived can offer? Despite its cruel and ruthless embrace, it gifts its victims with the greatest double edged sword ever known to man: time.

I was given all the time in the world so long as I remained in my personal safety circle. Now you're probably wondering: what did you spend all that time on? The answer is simple: video games. Okay, now it _may_ sound extremely depressing and unproductive, and I would probably agree with you too... if I wasn't a social mess. Let me explain to you: playing video games isn't bad as long as you do something productive with your future; that way, your time isn't wasted. These "interactive stories" inspired me to become something great, something that was worth putting your entire life into; I was inspired into becoming a hunstman.

I wanted to become a hero, someone who would fight monsters, protect the defenseless, and have people tell stories of me to their kids. I was dedicated to this goal; I would practice at the local training centre for huntsmen and huntresses, studied hard to get a better understanding of the world outside of modern society, and even took a couple bounty jobs focused on eliminating Grimm in my early teenage years.

So yeah...that was my somewhat depressing childhood - playing video games and training through trial and error to reach my dream.

* * *

Snapping back into reality, I heard the untimely buzzing of the speakers within the airship's crowded hallways begin to speak. I swear to Monty, I'm going to jump out of this thing if the captain says that we would be picking up more people.

"Hello, this is captain Michael speaking", the speaker echoed in a bored expression, "I would like to inform the future students of Beacon Academy that we have arrived at our destination, and would like to inform you to exit in an orderly fash- GAVIN DON'T TOUCH THE COFEE MAKER!" *_a faint clicking sound is heard from the speaker* _"GAVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-", and then a weak explosion was felt throughout the entire airship, shortly followed by a faint fragrance of dark coffee.

I quietly opened the stall door and slowly walked out of my social shelter towards the mirror.

Ok, time for a quick checklist:

_Black hoodie an_d _jeans? Check._

_Brown eyes not bloodshot from arcade all-nighter? Check._

_Black hair not-so messy (and not covered in that blue gunk that was hanging off the ceiling)? Nope. There's Smurf shit in my hair, better go wash that with sink water..._

_Assault Rifle, aka known as Ol'M8? Check._

I quickly gave my rifle, Ol'M8, an inspection. In my opinion, my assault rifle was my greatest achievement so far. Years of FPS and side scrollers shooter em' up games have given me the experience (but mostly a lot of tears, a shit load of salty tears, and a junkyard full of scrap parts) to build the ultimate rifle that is Ol'M8. Equipped with a duel grenade launcher and shotgun at the barrel, a toggle thermal sight, though I mostly use the iron-sights, a built-in mechanism that can resize bullets and ammo magazines and a switch that allows me to change the rate of fire, ranging from full-auto to semi-auto; it even has a built-in mp3 port! I've killed a lot of Grimm with this gun, and I'm positive that I'm going to kill more in my upcoming future.

I strapped my rifle onto my back and quickly ran my hair through the cold sink water. After somewhat drying it with paper towels, I put my hood on to avoid unwanted attention from my hair, and exited the washroom into the almost deserted hallway, ready to embrace the possible tortures known as socializing.

* * *

Surprisingly, nobody paid attention to me as I made my way out of the airship and on to Beacon's school grounds. As I exited the airship, I was harassed by the sun's blinding glare from above, which caused me to shield my eyes with my right arm; which made no sense since I'm wearing a bloody hood. As my vision slowly returned, I had a quick glimpse of my surroundings, and from what I just witnessed resulted in my insecurities rising from my socially poor, yet physically fit 17-year old body. There was social interaction...social interaction everywhere.

It wasn't fair; I bet my all the lien I got on me that the majority of these interactions were from complete strangers who just suddenly bumped into each other and BANG, social security achieved. It made me hate myself; I could easily remove a Grimm infestation surrounding a village, I could single-handedly out-hunt a pack of beowolves, but when I'm presented with a social situation, my brain goes into _Get the Fuck Out of here _mode, and escape becomes an essential.

_Ok, calm down Red, you can do this, you've already pictured this scenario on the way here, so all you got to do is stick with your brilliant plan._

The plan was simple...in a sense: pick the least occupied path with the least talkative people and get into the academy, or blend in to a group to people walking on said path and get to the academy. The only hard part was if my body was ready to endure it. I quickly looked at my choices; let's see here, group of at least 20 people walking together at the same pace and talking to one another...? Nope, high chance that I'd get noticed and be forced to interact with others, and humiliate myself publically. Second option involves scattered groups of people, involving faunus and humans...? Tempting, but at the same time, it's as risky as the first choice. If I walk by the groups, at least of these groups is either anti-faunus or anti-human, which could cause a riot that I'd have to be the source of ...so fuck option two. I was just about to evaluate my third option when I realized one important factor that I forgot...

_Look in front of where you're walking...dumbass._

It was too late, I bumped into a grey haired wolf faunus in front of me, causing both of us to fall to the stone floor. Luckily, said faunus was alone, so I didn't have to worry about getting the shit beat of me by a possible group of angry faunus. I sighed internally as I was getting up, knowing that I had to apologize...that and my brilliant plan failed.

"Ya' know...", the wolf faunus said as he was dusting himself off, "if you wanted to make friends so badly, you could have just tapped me on the shoulder", he gave off a sly smile as he said that, while looking up and down as if inspecting me. Normally, I did the same; the wolf faunus had silver eyes and on top of that grey, messy hair which was down to his neck, was a pair of wolf ears. He wore as the same style hoodie just like me, except the colour was white instead of black, and was much larger than his size. He had a pair of baggy torn jeans on, followed with a new pair of combat black boots. I must have been eyeing his boots a bit too long as it gave off the wrong impression to him.

"Um buddy, I like meeting new people and all, but I'm n-not into g-guys", he said as if he was joking. Strange, why did u stutter at the end, is he homosexual? Maybe in denial or something...

Nevermind, I'm probably over thinking the situation like I usually do. This is a burden that the socially awkward must carry with them to their grave; we assume the worst possible situation or over-exaggerate everything within our minds.

_That poor hobo didn't stand a chance; all he wanted was some lien and I mistook it for a mugging... So I broke his legs...with his other leg._

"Are you a faunus too?" he asked, "Is that why you're hiding your face?"

_Shit,shit,shit,shit,shit! What do I say?! If_ _I tell him I'm not a faunus, he'll question me further. What if I lie and say that I'm actually one of the leaders of a street gang, and that if he doesn't leave me alone, I'd call my boys from the hood and light him up? No that sounds stupid, even in my head... what was it that they said about canines? They can tell your lying by smelli-, no they can smell fear, yes that's it. Maybe if I come clean and just tell him that I don't like being noticed? Nope, that would lead to further questioning , come on, think of something already!_

I must have taken too long to respond as the curious faunus pulled my hood down himself.

"Whoa..," the faunus awed with his eyes in shock.

Dust, it hasn't even been an hour since I got here, and I already just committed social suicide. I could already see it on my gravestone.

"_Here lies Red, the socially awkward huntsman-in-training; he died of social embarrassment from having blue crap stained on his head."_

"Dude, that a pretty cool hair style you got there!" the faunus continued excitingly. I gave him a confused look, and quickly brought out my scroll to check your reflection. Honestly, I expected for a small blue turd to lie smugly on my hair, but from look of my reflection, I could understand how this wolf-faunus in front of me could be impressed with my hair. My hair was still black, and somewhat in-between messy and tidy, but whatever that tap water or blue waste did, it created a dark blue streak that ran down to the front of my hair.

"So what product did you use to get such a fine blue?" he asked with immense curiosity, "does it come in purple?"

"Well actually..." I began in a nervous voice.

_Come on Red, here's your chance to actually get some social exp! Just answer his question with something cool, maybe tell him that I got it from taking on an explosion head on and that created some sort of chain-reaction with my aura, or maybe I could tell him that some ancient goddess chose me to become her champion and gave me that as a mark of her power!_

"...I got it from the airship's washroom, from a chunk of blue gunk that fell from the ceiling and landed on my head, and then I tried to wash it off using the sink water" I answered quickly without even realizing what I had said.

_...Fuck._

He stared at me with a poker face for a split second, only for the mysterious face to burst into hysterical laughter.

"_Here lies Red, the dumbass huntsman-in-training; he couldn't answer a simple question properly" _

"Cool hair, and funny too!" he said as he tried to calm down "that's it, you're going to be my first friend here in Beacon! So what's your name soon-to-be friend?"

Great Monty, I could already see my social skill exp bar level up at least twice as he said that. This was sad however, since all I did was answer like an idiot.

_D-did he just say friend?! Praise Lord Monty and his DDR skills! ...wait, now what do next?_

"It's Red" I try to say calmly, only to end up sounding like a hoarse whisper. I tried again, this time with somewhat confidence, "er, Red Eerf, it's nice to meet you...uhhhh-"

"Aero Leon-Haert" he smiled as he offered his hand for me to shake it. "You don't seem like the rebellious type of person to go against the name your parents gave ya', don't you think?"

I just met the guy for 5 minutes and he already wants me to talk about my family? Well, loners can't be choosers I suppose.

"My parents weren't exactly around growing up, let's leave it as that. Besides I told you, I didn't decide to suddenly dye my hair blue today." I explained as I shook his hand. "So how about your family?"

"Eh?", Aero yelped in surprise, "Well, my dad is a super strong huntsman, but my mom she...um... ."

He seemed to have drifted off into some sort of depression as he said that, because after he said that, he just looked at the ground. Seriously, why is socializing so hard?! It's as if there's a list of the do's and dont's of talking to others, and I'm the only guy in this world that doesn't have one. Ok, time to cheer him up, I mean that's what friends do right?

"You know..." I tried to say while keeping a normal voice, "I got nothing against homosexuals, but I'm not into guys."

_...WTF Red?! Is this how you try and cheer up your first friend in Beacon?! Dust, why I'm laughing when I said that? Must... suppress... urge ... to... laugh. _

As soon as I said that, he must have noticed the misunderstanding that he was in and quickly lifted his head, his face looking mortified with a small red blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"NO, NO, NO, NO!" Aero yelled while furiously shaking his head left and right, "You got the wrong ide-", I couldn't hold it in any longer, and I broke into a chuckle.

Realizing that I was joking, he quickly snickered at my response and responded with his own laugh, "Well Red, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful and slightly perverted friendship." he replied trying to calm down again.

"Will all first year Beacon students please move to the auditorium for the introduction ceremony" a loud speaker voice said over the campus.

"Shall we go, new friend?" the wolf faunus asked with his right thumb pointing in the direction of said ceremony.

I silently nodded and placed my hood over my head again to try and avoid any more attention.

"Shy about our hair are we?" Aero snickered as he too put his white hood, "then I guess we can play thug-life together until we get to the auditorium. And if anyone asks, we'll just say we're the leaders of a street gang and that their very presence pisses us off; and then we'll threaten to have our boys from the hood come over here and light them up if they down get out of our way! Hey Red, what should we call our imaginary street gang?! I'm thinking something like _The Fresh Arisen Gangsta Overlord Tunnel Snakes_! Or how about _The Sai-"_

* * *

**(**_**Later)** _

He didn't stop talking until we got inside the auditorium, and the same message was playing over and over in my head:

_...What the Dust did I get myself into?_


	2. The Terror of the Little Girl!

Remember when I said that I'm nervous when I'm around people? Well, walking into a room filled with people with little space makes me truly terrified. My breathing was beginning to become uneasy, and the thought of being humiliated was starting to overwhelm me. I mean, everywhere I looked I saw people talking with one another; and if my lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll- I was hallucinating a group of deformed people, far ahead from where I was standing, were glaring daggers at me. I needed to calm down; otherwise I might attract attention from others.

Aero seemed to notice my discomfort and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey man, if you're worried about getting attention from that awesome hair of yours, we could always move over to that corner over there," Aero whispered while pointing over to a fairy isolated corner.

I sighed in approval, and we strolled over there. Aero was right, the lack of invisible eyes on me seemed to have slow down my raising pulse of insecurities. Granted, there were other people who seemed to have the same idea of not being noticed and they were all just standing there, some being silent while others making idle small-talk.

_Great, it's elementary school all over again._

So far, after meeting Aero, I've come to the conclusion that he was a "people person"; not that it really bothered me aside from the weird looks that people gave us when were walking here. He seemed to be the type of guy who would go with the flow and attempt to strike up a conversation with the nearest person beside him.

And as if the over-worldly forces were trying to prove my point, Aero quickly looked over to a short girl standing to his right side, and repeatedly tapped her shoulder.

She was a fairly short girl, about 5'1, though I'm only 5'8, and I think Aero is about 5'6. She had gold hair that ran down to her back, and on the top of her head was a small piece of hair that was sticking up. Around her neck was a tainted green scarf that looked so torn, that it looked as if it went through the a chainsaw demonstration. She wore a plain white short-sleeve shirt, followed with a sleeveless black unzipped jacket, fingerless black gloves, black jeans, and a pair of old looking running shoes.

She ignored him at first; her red eyes locked in what was in front of her - the crowds of teenagers amassed together, socializing. Eventually, she seemed to have gotten annoyed with my new friend's repeated poking, and the small lock of her blonde hair that seemed to defy gravity twitched ever so slightly.

"What?! What do you want?!" the mystery girl hissed as she turned to face him "Can't you use that dense wolf-brain of yours and actually _try_ to notice that the headmaster of Beacon is about start the introduction ceremony?!"

Aero turned his head into the direction the girl had been looking before he "interacted" with her. I turned my head into the same direction as well to try and see the person who invited me to this social prison. Needless to say, I was shocked.

_That's Ozpin?! He looks like nothing like the time we met!_

In front of the large group to soon-to-be students, stood a man who famous huntsmen and huntresses labeled as the strongest huntsman to have ever live in our generation, "_Supreme Overlord"_ Ozpin. However, unlike the professional attire he wore when we "met", standing in-front of the future huntsmen and huntresses was an ill-looking man with terrible bed hair, wearing nothing but a pair of white pajamas; and it was only the pair of distinctive black sunglasses, and his signature cane that he gripped so ever dependently, that allowed me to recognize him.

Beside him was a middle-aged woman with short light blonde hair, wearing a white blouse where the sleeves extended to the arms, with a purple cape hanging on her back, followed by a black skirt. She was probably there be there to help the ill-man if he collapses.

"That's the guy that people call _The Supreme Overlord_?" Aero asked the short girl in shock.

"Jus-just shut up!" she yelled with a hint of embarrassment on her cheeks. She probably didn't even notice it until now. I pulled my hood down even further to show my empathy for her.

She must have seen me do that, since her face got slightly redder, and she threw Aero aside as she stomped angrily towards me.

"What? You think this is some kind of sadistic joke?!" she threatened as suddenly grabbed me by the collar of my hood and pulled me towards eye level. "Well, c'mon funny guy! C'mon laugh again, I dare you! And then we'll see how big your balls are after I rip them off and shove the-"

"N-N-No, y-you go-t t-the wrong idea!" I managed to say as the fear in my eyes lit up like a flash bang, "I p- pu -pulled my hood d-down si-"

_Ah stuttering, one of the many gifts of the socially awkward..._

"Hey, hey, hey!" Aero said quickly as he got in-between us, fortunately forcing the angry demon to let go of me. "Let's just put this flood behind a dam, ok? How about we become friends? The name's Aero and the poor fellow you're scaring is Red, so wh- "

A loud screech was heard over the speaker boxes.

"Ahem...now that I...have -*_cough -_your attention- *_cough* - _I would begin by - *_cough* -_ sincerely apologizing for my cur - *_cough* - _entappearance. You see -*_cough -_ one of the fourth year students decided it would be a -*_cough -_ funny idea to spike my co -*_cough -_ ffee with corgi urine..." Ozpin managed as the crowd began to question the health, and possibly the sanity, of this great huntsman. "You don't need to worry -*_cough - _children, I've already cleaned the vile venom -*_cough - _with my aura and no-*_cough -_w I'm only suffering t-*_cough -_he after effects..."

There was a brief silence as he explained this, shortly after, he put took a small canister which was probably his medicine. Out of thin air. And downed the whole thing.

_What is this? I don't even..._

"Ahem, I'll keep this brief before I lose conscience..." Ozpin started as he cleared his throat, his voice sounding slightly stronger than before. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energ- "

Ozpin suddenly collapsed on the stand, but before his body could crash onto the ground, a magic glyph suddenly appeared and stopped the unconscious headmaster in mid-air. The woman beside him had used her crop to enable some sort of _spell_. She then casually moved to the mic-stand and began in a sharp tone:

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch and I am a professor here at Beacon Academy. Therefore you, as the future students attending this prestigious school, must and always show respect to me and the faculty here. Headmaster Ozpin has made a great deal of getting of bed to greet each and every one of you here, so I highly recommend that if you wish to stay here, you pretend that this little incident has never happen."

With a flick of her crop, Ozpin's body suddenly ignited a bright purple, and with a flash, he vanished out of thin air.

"Now do I make myself clear?" the stern woman asked rhetorically. "Good, you will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

And with same trick she did to the headmaster, she vanished as well.

After a brief moment, the people in the auditorium began to leave, either to explore the school grounds or to take an airship and relax in the city of Vale for awhile.

As the room began to empty, I noticed the girl who threatened to tear my testicles off, begin to leave. I needed to make things right with her; I didn't want to make an enemy with her or her possible friends in my future here at Beacon. I knew that if I talked to her, it might make things worse due to my lack of ability to properly maintain a proper conversation, so I quickly nudged Aero with my elbow and shifted my head over to her.

He seemed to have gotten the wrong idea, because as soon as he saw who I was referring to, he quickly gave me a mischievous grin.

"Wow Red", Aero chuckled, "I didn't know you were into _that_ kind of stuff with women."

_You have got to be kidding me. _

"Never mind, I'll do it myself..." I grumbled to him as I slowly made my way to her.

"You go get her, tiger!" he joked as he gave me a thumb up for good luck.

Time seemed to slow down as I got closer to her. All I needed to do was to apologize to her, and maybe, just maybe, I could get off the hook with _one_ of my testicles still hanging. It sounded simple enough, well the testicle part anyways...

"Um...hey," I started as I lightly tapped her shoulder, "about earlier..."

You know what one of the greatest struggles when it comes to socializing with other people as a socially-poor person? Being the one to start the conversation; well in my case, talking to people the same gender is _easier_ than having to talk to people of the opposite gender, especially when the opposite gender wants to kill you.

She quickly turned her head to me and gave me the most terrifying, soul-crushing glares I could have ever seen in my life.

"_Here lies Red, the Virgin huntsman-in-training; he got his balls ripped off by a little girl"_

"What?" the short girl asked in an annoyed tone, "you got some macho issue or something? Can't face getting your manly pride getting curb stomped on by a _little girl_? And where's that annoying friend of yours? Ha, I bet he's too terrified to even be in my shado-"

"I'm sorry..." I managed in a soft whisper, "...about...uh...offending you...e-earlier. I-it was an accident, I...pulled my hood down to avoid a-attention, I w-wasn't laughing at you o-or anything..."

She continued to death glare at me for a good solid minute.

After feeling like an eternity of awkward silence, the girl's face suddenly turned red.

"Great Monty, please don't tear off my balls!" I flinched in fear.

"N-No, I should be the one apologizing!" she said as she bowed her head which I can only assume was a show of respect. Wait, is that normal modern society?

"It's just that, where I come from...", she explained as she rose her from her bow, "...the guys there were very sexist and ridiculed me for wanting to become a huntress, so I thought that you and that wolf faunus over there were going to start making fun of me an-"

"W-wait," I interrupted, "my...er..friend over there was b-bothering you because I think he likes i-interacting with o-others, and since y-you were the closest one in his vicinity, I guess h-he wanted to try and be f-friends with you..."

She tilted her head to the left to catch a glimpse of Aero, and then back to me.

"Well, I guess it would be nice to have some friends for a change..." she mumbled to herself. Actually, I never understood why people think out loud. Is it because they think that no one can hear them, or that she doesn't even acknowledge my existance?

She extended her hand for me and said "My name is Gherasia, but please, if we're going to be friends, call me Ghras, Gherasia feels way too girly for me."

_Friends?! I think Aero's big enough for my social circle. I don't need a girl with a short fuse to be part of my life! Life, when are you going to give me a break after 17 years of social torture?!_

"It's n-nice to m-meet you, Gheras- er...Ghras" I stuttered as I shook her hand. I really needed to fix this habit if I'm going to be here for four years.

"Nice to meet you too, um...what was your name again..." she thought to herself out loud, "Oh yeah, it was Aero! It's nice to meet you too, Aero!"

_...The girl who threatened to tear off my testicles... doesn't even remember my name. Should I test my luck and correct her? Well, I might as well give it a shot._

"Um, Ghras...?"

"Hm?"

"...the wolf-faunus over there is Aero, I'm R-"

"Red!" Aero interrupted in an eager voice as he came out of nowhere and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "How long is it going to take you to get her number already man?! I wanna' check out the cafeteria here, ya' know?"

"W-what?!" a suddenly blushing Ghras exclaimed, "Y-you want to go out with me? B-b-but, w-we just met a-and, an-"

"NO, YOU GOT THE WRONG IDEA AGAIN!" I raised my voice, which surprised me more than the two of them. "Aero was just being joking! I don't want to go out with you!"

I thought that I had cleared things up with her, but I was so ever wrong. Life was done with its coffee break and was now going to make up for lost time, and its first client was poor me.

"W-what? You think that I'm not attractive or something?!" Ghras said; her annoyed and angry tone returning to her. "Is it because I'm flat-chested!?"

"Yes! Wait...NO! Nothing like that! Nothing like that at all!" I nervously countered with no confidence what so ever in my tone. I glanced over at her chest, and she was right: she was flat ch- wait...what the dust am I doing?!

She must have noticed me looking at her non-existent breasts, because her face became a furious shade of red.

"I can't believe I wanted to be friends with you! Y-YOU PERVERT!" Gras angrily screamed as pulled her right arm back to prepare for an uppercut.

_Wait...where does she plan on hitting m-_

I didn't see it coming. A very angry Gras punched me with the force of a thousand suns in my crotch.

* * *

(_MEANWHILE, AT OZPIN'S CLOCK TOWER)_

"Honestly Ozpin..." Glynda sighed, while looking at the ill-headmaster lying on a bed. "You didn't have to get out of bed today; Bart would have willingly done the presentation for you"

"Not attending the introduction ceremony for our future generation is like not being there to witness one's child being born..." the headmaster managed in a tired voice, "besides; I highly doubt that the future huntsmen and huntresses would be able to keep up with Oobleck's rate of -"

Before the sick man could finish, a loud high pitched scream was heard from a distant auditorium where the introduction ceremony was held.

"Glynda..."

"...Yes, Ozpin?"

"Please bring that poor fellow to the school's infirmary..."

"Very well", Glynda sighed, marking this as the 5th incident this year. With a flick of her crop, she disappeared in a purple flash.

* * *

(_BACK AT THE AUDITORIUM) _

I don't remember a time when I raised my voice so loud.

All it took was one punch, one very powerful punch, and now my numb legs were beginning buckle, my vision hazy, and my conscience beginning to fade. I got a quick glimpse of Aero; with both of his arms raised in the air as if he was surrendering, trying to sort things out with a very angry Ghras.

I wouldn't be able to witness the whole thing though, as I began to collapse headfirst onto the floor.

And then, everything went black.


	3. The Mysterious Jack!

**It's ironic, truly ironic. When I read fanfics, I would always mentally complain about the authors not updating fast enough. Lel, here I am, updating A MONTH later. I could blame school or the fact that I had to rewrite this chapter twice, but honestly I blame my laziness. But enough of me, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

I don't remember much after Ghras had falcon punched me in my balls, but I DID remember being in the auditorium.

At first it was darkness, but when I opened my eyes, I was presented with a clear blue sky. I noticed that I was lying on my back, and was resting on a nice hillside in the middle of no-where. I slowly got up to have a better look of my surroundings.

It was weird, to say the least I mean. All around me was just hills covered with a lush sheet of grass and the occasional flowers. There was a faint scent of morning dew in the air, which was carried by an ever so gentle breeze. The sky was empty, just a calm shade of blue; no clouds, just one big annoying sun.

"Where am I?" I thought out loud.

_Wait...am I dead? Did Ghras punch me so hard that I just died on the spot?! What the Dust, I just got to Beacon and I didn't last a day!_

"Is anyone out here!?" I yelled as I freaked out about being dead.

"Oh, so you're awake now?" asked an unknown voice from behind. I jerked my head around to see a surprise.

I saw a tall man leaning on an apple tree that appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed in a black business suit with a fedora on top of his head, black dress shoes, and a pair of black sunglasses rested on his mysterious face. He wasn't looking at me though; he had his head down, admiring a golden pocket watch in his right hand.

"W-who are y-you?" I asked, my socially awkwardness kicking in, "And w-where am I?" Even in the middle of nowhere I still can't socially interact with ONE person.

The man just chuckles at my question, and calmly places his watch back into his pocket.

"The name's Jack" said the man as he was now walking towards me, his voice sounding raspy and distorted. "And _you, _"Red", asked the wrong question. It's not _where_ you are, but what _time_ it is."

I flinched as Jack was telling me this, since I didn't even introduce myself.

"S-so what t-time is it then?"

"Time for you to wake up kid..."

_Wait, what is he talking abou-_

"FALCON KICK!"

* * *

As if a spark of lighting had struck me, I jerked awake. I was breathing heavily, contemplating the "dream" I just had. I looked around to make sure I was still in Beacon, and fortunately for me I was. I had to guess that I was in the school's infirmary, judging from the one of the many beds I was lying in. Besides me, the room was deserted, which I was relieved for. I noticed a clock on that was hanging on one of the walls and realized that I had been unconscious for at least three hours. And just like that, my internal clock alarm told me that I needed food.

I sighed as I got out of bed, since there was a high chance that I was going to meet someone in the hallway. It would feel extremely awkward just to walk by that person; Dust I didn't even know where the cafeteria was.

At this point, I regret being "friends" with Aero. The wolf faunus was an insane sociopath that had a jester's knife behind that open personality of his. After all, he was the one that convinced Ghras that I wanted to go out with her, which soon escalated into my testicles being punched with a force of a thousand suns.

I walked into the hallways expecting a lot of students interacting with each other, but to my surprise, there was only one person in the entire hall. Unfortunately, said person was busy yelling (but mostly shaking) at a vending machine.

"WHY AREN'T YOU PROVIDING ME WITH MY SODA YOU DUMB CONTRAPTION!?"

I really need to leave this place now. His yelling is going to attract attention, which would result in students and teachers arriving here, therefore causing me to get involved. Feigning ignorance, I slowly tip-toed my way to the other side of the hallway hoping that the angry person wouldn't notice me; too bad he did.

"Hey you over there! Person in the black hood, I could really use some help over here!" the person yelled towards me.

_Why me? Why is it always me that gets involved in these situations? Why couldn't I have been treated like an outcast? They have it easy, no need for social interaction what so ever..._

I sighed in defeat as I walked over to the person that called me over. He was probably a first year student just like me.

Said person was taller than me, at least 6'9. His deep-blue hair was spiked up at the front, and his green eyes had a "seaweed" feel to it, as if he just took a swim in the middle of the ocean. He wore a faded-white trench coat that had its sleeves forcibly removed and its buttons to hold it together from the middle were ripped out as well, revealing a torn-blue top underneath. Around his wrists were silver cuffs which I could only assume were just accessories. He had a pair of gray, baggy sweat pants on, which was held up by a mahogany rope that was wrapped around his waist. Though what seemed to catch my eye first about him was a distinct X-like scar on his forehead.

"S-so...um...w-what do you need help for?" I asked in a nervous voice.

"This machine over here won't give me my soda!" the blue-haired stranger yelled in annoyance. "I've been standing here for half an hour now!"

I looked over at the abused vending machine, and noticed a message on the display. "OUT OF ORDER"

It was then I realized that I was helping an idiot.

_This guy's joking right? No way in all of Remant he could have missed that..._

"Um...you see here...a-about this vending machine..." I started nervously.

"What about it?!"

"Um...i-it's... out of order..."

"...What?"

"It's broken right now, so you can't get your soda from this machine..." I finished.

As I answered him, the stranger's face transformed into a pale white as if he had been stabbed in the heart.

"N-no way..." he whimpered as he fell to his knees with his hands on the floor. "All I wanted was my sugary drink..."

Even if this was awkward to be part of, I felt bad for him, I really did. I noticed another vending machine right beside the broken one. I slowly walked over to it and purchased a soda can.

The blue haired stranger seemed to be in a depression because he didn't even notice me moving or buying a soda, Dust, I don't even think he heard the loud _ka-lunk _that the machine made when dispensing the drink.

I lightly tapped him on the shoulder, and when he saw me offer him the drink he so ever desired, his face brightened. Too bad I wasn't ready for what was going to happen next.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You wouldn't believe the quench I had to endure!" he yelled as he gave me one of the most soul-crushing bear hugs I could have ever experienced.

"_Here lies Red, the huntsman-in-training, he was strangled to death by a blue haired giant." _

"Urk...c-can't...breath..." I managed.

He quickly let me down, and drank down his prize.

"Monty, you're a life saver man, and you got some really nice hair too, that blue really fits you!"

"Um..thanks?" I felt really uncomfortable now, I hated being talked about, especially when it was from a stranger.

"My name is Storme Bleu, it's great to be friends with you!" He smiled cheerfully.

"W-wait, I n-never asked to be frie-...actually never mind, my name is Red Eerf, n-nice to meet you too" I was hungry and exhausted; if giving the guy a soda automatically makes you his friend, I'll just go with it. I mean besides meeting Aero and Ghras, how bad could he be?

Suddenly my stomach growled, reminding me of my hunger.

"You hungry?" Storme asked. "Didn't you eat at the food court yet?"

"I was in the infirmary after the ceremony...I don't even want to explain how I got there..." this felt so awkward right now; I should have just stayed in the infirmary for the entire day.

"Well c'mon then, I'll take you there" Storme said with a smile, "it's the least I can do for helping me."

We both started walking in silence in the hallways and it felt like social hell. Seriously, it's like being trapped in a room with beowolf, but neither one of you are trying killing each other- just staring off, waiting for one of us to make the first move.

But as we were about to turn the corner, "Life" decided to screw me over again. You see, as we turned around the corner, I encountered a certain girl in a green scarf who had a height problem, Ghras. Her face immediately turning red, in which I can assume anger, again the moment she saw me.

"Red, you're up already?!" Gras asked in a surprised tone.

In response to fear, I fell onto my back and started to crawl away from her.

"Gh-Ghras?! Please, I've already endured enough abuse, don't send me back there!" I begged, completely forgetting my social predicament with Storme.

I thought I was going to die again but Storme suddenly stepped in between us, acting as my shield.

"Look, I don't know what exactly happen here, but if you plan on hurting my friend, you have to get through me first." Storme said in a serious tone.

"You got it all wrong, I'm his friend too!" Ghras countered. "And who in Monty's name are you?!"

_Friend?! Ghras, you just sent me to the infirmary after one punch!_

"It's Storme. Storme Bl-"

"Ya' know Ghras, friends don't _warlock punch_ other friends in the balls" a familiar voice interrupted.

Walking around the corner, behind a very red Ghras, came the sociopath known as Aero. He was holding a brown cardboard bag that emitted a very pleasant aroma. However, when I looked over at his face I noticed that his left eye was bruised black.

"S-Shut up, I already know that Aero! That's why I was heading to infirmary to wait for him to wake up and apologize to him!" Ghras answered the wolf faunus.

"Oh sure Ghras, but didn't you tell me that you were just going to write an apology note and leave?"

"SHUT UP AREO!"

"A-apologize?" I asked as I slowly got up, my mind was all over the place by now.

"Um...y-yeah" Ghras answered nervously as she began to rub her fingers between her scarf, "Aero told me that it was his fault, b-but I felt horrible for ah, 'hurting' you". S-so again, I'm... sorry about the misunderstanding, Red."

"Um...apology accepted?" I answered. And just like that, the red in Ghras' face just went away.

"So uh..." started Storme as he put his hand behind his head feeling like he didn't belong in the moment, "I don't think I properly met you two...I'm Storme."

"...Just call me Ghras."

" Meh, any friend of Red is a friend of mine! I'm Aero, nice to meet ya'!"

"So Aero, how did you get that black eye? I mean you do know how to use aura right?" I asked out of curiosity. However, after saying it out loud, I felt extremely stupid for asking him that, which caused me to feel even more discomfort about myself.

_Why did I ask him that?! Of course he knows what aura is, he's a huntsman! Only a scrawny loser would get into Beacon not knowing what aura was!_

"Pfft, of course I know that I could heal myself with my Aura, Red," Aero answered, "it's just that Ghras 'insisted' that I keep this for the whole day to teach me a lesson about spreading misunderstandings."

_At least Aero didn't get one-shot like I did._

"And I hope you learned it too, you dumb Wolf!" Ghras called back while looking over to him with an evil grin.

Storme looked confused and was about to ask about it when I put my hand on his shoulder and shook my head. It wasn't worth hearing the story of my pain.

As if to make me feel even more awkward, my stomach roared in hunger, again.

"Right, so here's the thing" Storme said, "Red hasn't eaten anything since the ceremony, so I was just about to guide him to the food court."

_And hopefully leave me alone afterwards..._

"You're welcome to come along if you want, seeing as you're friends with him too."

_...Dammit Life, can't you see that I just want to be alone for awhile? I get that they're all my 'friends' now, but I have to get my alone time._

"Actually, we thought that Red was going to be out cold for at least another hour, so I went ahead and got him a box of pizza for him to enjoy!" Aero cheered. "Here you go buddy!" he said as he handed me the package that contained my meal.

We stood in awkward silence for five seconds, though to me it felt like an eternity. Thinking about it now, I'll probably look like a pig if I ate the whole thing alone, and I REALLY wanted this silence to end, so I did something that took all the willpower I could muster.

"S-s-so um g-guys, I was thinking that..." I managed in a shaky voice. Great Monty, this feels so awkward right now! "...we should eat it t-together? I m-mean, I can't eat this all by myself, and I t-think it would a-allow us to g-get to know each other b-better..." In the back of my mind, I desperately hoped that they didn't notice my legs shaking.

"..."

One second of silence. Dust, they're going to reject me! I could already picture their responses:

_Aero: ... ._

_Ghras: I got better things to do than hang out with 'you'._

_Storme: Um...my refrigerator is calling me, I gotta' ditch yo- I mean go somewhere far away from yo- I mean...I'll just go now._

" !"

"I got nothing better to do right now, and I still feel bad after knocking you out..."

"It would be a waste if you couldn't finish it and left it in a refrigerator, so c'mon I'll take you to the food court so we eat and bond with each other!"

_...Never mind eating with me! REJECT ME! THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA, CURSE YOU AWKWARD SILENCES!_

"G-great..." I sighed as we walked to the food court, as well as Aero and Storme having a conversation about refrigerators and toasters.

* * *

**(**_**At the food court**_**)**

The food court was huge to say the least; the roof was elevated with the light shining from above. Two sides of the walls were lined with large windows that extended all the way to the roof. The setting sun's orange light gazed into the room, making the food court have a warm atmosphere. The multiple tables were extremely long and stretched to half the food court. It felt deserted; there were a couple of people sitting but it they were so scattered so you couldn't tell unless you actually checked to look (which I did, of course.)

It wasn't hard to find an empty table since I did wake up around sunset, but it was a surprise that Ghras, Storme, and _especially_ Aero, all agreed and insisted that we should sit at an empty table. So we sat down, and began to enjoy our food.

It still felt awkward though, but not as bad as before. I mean at least everyone was busy eating their food.

_Now all I have to do is finish this slice, tell them I'm feeling well, and go find an isolated area to relax._

"S-So you guys excited to meet your teams tomorrow?" Aero asked with bits of pizza spewing out from his mouth as he talked. I almost choked on my food the moment I heard that.

"Eww Aero, that's disgusting! Swallow before you talk!" Ghras yelled with her left arm covering face from Aero's onslaught of pre-chewed pizza.

I didn't care about Aero's lack of manners that much; I was more concerned about what he said earlier.

_Teams?! _

Storme seemed to ignore Aero's non-existent table manners and responded, "Totally man! I don't know anyone here, so I'm excited to meet-"

"...Teams, w-what do you mean by that?" I interrupted, my appetite long gone now.

"Well there's a rumor going around that says that we're going to be put in teams during the initiation..." Ghras answered in an annoyed tone, "Honestly, I think being part of a team is the dumbest idea ever! They'll just slow me down!" Her golden lock of gravity defying hair twitched as she said that.

"Ranting are we, Ghras?" Aero asked in his usual mischief tone as he took a bite from his pizza.

"I don't know what the headmaster of Beacon was thinking; having teams will just slow everyone down!"

"So you're telling me that if Aero, Red, or I were on your team, we would slow you down?" Storme questioned in his cheerful demeanor. "And you wouldn't enjoy our company?"

"W-wah?! No, t-that's not what I meant at all!" Ghras quickly answered back, a hint of embarrassment hiding behind her cheeks. "I m-mean, s-since w-we're friends a-and all-"

"Awww, is our little Ghras scared of meeting new people?" Aero joked in the same tone he used on me when he told asked about my "relationship" with Ghras.

"SHUT UP AERO!" she yelled furiously as she hurled a pizza slice at the wolf faunus. Though I expected the pizza slice to just collide with his face and just slide off; I realized that it was Ghras who threw it. With tremendous velocity, the pizza slice slammed into Aero's face, the sheer force causing him to fall back off his chair.

"Woah there Ghras, he was just concerned about your social skills is all!" Storme said in awe of what just happen to Aero.

"What?! You think just because I'm _little_ _girl_ that I'm naturally shy and have no self confidence about myself?! Is that it?!" Dear Monty, she's ignited again. "Let me tell you that I kil- "

"H-hey G-Ghras, c-can you calm d-down now? I-I mean, you don't want to repeat the past right?" I reasoned, hoping that this would calm the storm that is Ghras.

Ghras seemed to have listened to me since she suddenly took a deep breath and began in a quiet tone, "S-sorry about exploding again, I'm just...um...'anxious' about having to be in a team with strangers is all. H-hey Aero, are you okay?"

Said wolf faunus popped his head from under the table, with a certain pizza slice stuck on the front of his face.

"Never felt better," he answered as he forcibly peeled the pizza off of his face. It did sound strange, however, that his voice sounded slightly "higher pitched" for that moment.

We all began to chuckle as we saw his face, now covered in cheese and tomato sauce from the pizza. "What is there something on my face?" he asked sarcastically.

"You could say something like that" Storme answered as he handed him a napkin to clean his face. "Anyways, you shouldn't worry that much Ghras. Who knows, we might be able to pick who's on our team." Ghras' face seemed brightened as Storme explained this.

"I call team captain then!" Aero called with a big grin.

"Huh?!"

"What?!"

"..."

"Well if we COULD choose our team members then, I call dibs on being leader of _our_ team!" the wolf faunus clarified.

"What do you mean 'our' team?" Ghras asked, "and who made you leader?!"

"I don't know how big the teams are, but you, Storme, Red, and I should totally be a team, with me as your awesome leader! Besides I called dibs."

"..." Ghras just gives Aero one of her death stares.

"...Okay, we'll discuss the leadership role when we actually get to the bridge..." Aero responded in defeat.

As the conversation of teams was being discussed around the table, I was having a mental breakdown of my future here at Beacon.

I don't think I would enjoy having to work together with a bunch of strangers, even if they were trained to kill the monsters known as Grimm. It would be way too awkward, for me and the team. I think my breakdown got so bad that two cows-one white, the other red- popped out of nowhere on my shoulders.

"_There's no way in hell you're going to be part of any team. You're a loner remember?" _said the red cow.

"_But what about your new friends, they seem like a fun group to be around!" _countered the white cow.

"_Screw them! Last time I checked, THEY were the ones that wanted to be friends with Red over here! Not him, so c'mon kid let's ditch these losers"_

"_So what if they were the first ones to start the friendship? They're HIS friends now, and he needs to learn how to open up if he wants to be a true hero!"_

"_Fuck being a hero, it's about the thug life! Don't corrupt this kid's mentality with this friendship BS you're sayin' right now!"_

"_Well I never! That's it! I'm going to trap you in a hole!"_

"_You wanna' go scru-"_

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU ARGUING ON MY SHOULDERS?!" I yelled out loud, my sanity at its brink. This caused the cows to disappear, but my sudden outburst caught the attention of the people sitting around me. And the awkwardness begins.

"Red are you ok?" Storme asked with concern. I took a look at my pizza, and quickly thought of an excuse.

"S-sorry, I t-think it's the pizza making me h-hallucinate..." I lied.

_...That has got to be the WORST lie I have ever told, who in Monty's name is going to believe that garbage?!_

"Well it makes sense; I _did_ get this from the trash can after all..." Aero sheepishly added.

_...I honestly hope you're joking Aero, I really am._

"AERO YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

"N-no w-way..."

"..."

"In my defense, it looked and smelled perfectly fin-..." Aero quickly passed out and crashed onto the floor. I glanced over to Ghras and noticed the effects of trash pizza affecting her as well.

"I don't... feel so goo-..." Ghras collapsed face first onto the table. As she fell, my vision was beginning to get blurry and my limbs began to go limp; Dust, it's happening again. I turned to Storme to check on his condition, but to my surprise he looked perfectly fine.

"W-wah...S-Storme...w-why aren't y-you..." I couldn't find the words in my current state.

"Heh, I've eaten a lot worst in my past," Storme answered as he got up and brought an unconscious Ghras over his shoulder, "don't worry I'll bring all of you to the infirmary."

"T-tha..." I started, but that was all I could muster before the world before me faded into nothingness.

* * *

_**(UNKNOWN)**_

I "woke up" in the grassy plains again. The setting was the same: clear blue skies, annoyingly bright sun, and grass, grass everywhere.

"Well, look who came back" a familiar voice came from behind. I turned my head to see the magical appearing tree, and standing in the shade was the familiar man in his usual fedora.

"Jack?"

"Wow kid, I didn't think you'd actually remember me" he gave a sly smile as he said this. I couldn't see his entire face though; he hid it behind his shadow-like hat.

"T-there's no way this is a dream..." I concluded "I m-mean, YOU actually have a conscience!"

"Heh" laughed Jack in a low tone, "Don't you think that's enough baseless statements for today? Where are those questions you asked during our first encounter?"

I gave in to his desire to be questioned, so I asked, "W-who are you then?"

"I told you already kid, it's Jack." He pulled out his trademark pocket watch from his pocket with his other hand and began to stare at it.

"I-I mean, who are you, like who are you really?"

"Just Jack, kid." He sighed as he answered me in a bored expression.

_I'm getting nowhere with this guy..._

"Well maybe if you asked the _right_ questions, this wouldn't have happened kid..." Jack said as if he read my mind. No wait, he DID read my mind!

"H-how d-did you do that?"

"Do what kid?"

"R-read my mind"

"..." The mysterious man in the fedora ignored me, so I decided to try another question.

"So, why are you here, and why is it just you and me in the middle of nowhere?" Jack grinned as I asked him that.

"Now THAT, is good question..." However, before he could answer me, a loud bell echoed throughout the hills.

"Looks like our time is up for now, kid..." he sighed, "just know one thing before we part ways..."

"W-what is it?" My curiosity was at its peak, I wanted- no I NEEDED to know what this mysterious person, Jack, had to tell me.

"From here on out, you're going to be in one huge misadventure. And in the end you're either going to become the hero you always dreamed of... or you're going to disappear into nothing..."

"W-wah-"

"FAAAAAAAAALCON KIIIIICCCKKKK!"

And then everything went black...again.

* * *

**So that was a long chapter right? Sorry about that, I felt like I needed to get the initiation in Emerald forest right away.**


	4. Embrace: Initiation Begins!

**Wow so 2 chapters in one week? Don't expect this to be a schedule, I will update as frequently as possible. And I also needed to make up for lost time. Anyways enjoy!**

* * *

I woke up back in the Beacon's infirmary, however upon checking the time - I noticed that it was now morning. I had been unconscious throughout the entire night, which made absolutely no sense since I only had a brief conversation with Jack.

Thinking about it now, I was so ever confused about my situation. What "misadventure" was I going to get involved in and what was he saying about my future? I sort of understood the hero part, but the disappearing part is where I'm completely lost. This Jack person was a mystery; an eight-sided Rubix cube. I have no idea who or rather WHAT he is, and why he decided to strike a conversation with me. Seriously why me out of everyone else?! I have no social skills what so ever, nor do I have anything special about my past either; it just consisted of me slaughtering Grimm, playing video games, and slaughtering more Grimm after . I swear if I end up in some cliché prophecy/chosen-one crap, I'm just going to kill myself to avoid the trouble.

I remember Storme telling me that he would bring everyone into the infirmary, but when I looked around, it was empty. The beds beside me looked used so I can only guess that the others woke up before me and left for breakfast. I let out a loud sigh of annoyance as I begrudgingly got out of my bed. Just as I was going to exit the room, I bumped into familiar wolf faunus. Who for "some" reason was holding a bucket of freezing ice water... How did I know that this water had the temperature of an arctic wasteland? Well it's because – IT SPILLED ALL OVER ME AS I FELL!

_S-S-SO C-CO-COLD...SO V-VERY C-COLD..._

"A-AERO W-WHAT T-T-THE HECK?!" I chattered while shivering.

"Well you've been asleep for at least 2 hours now since me and the others woke up" Aero answered with his usual grin as he got up from the floor, "I mean you seem like the type of guy who doesn't wake up if someone nudges them so..."

"SO YOU PLANNED ON FREEZING ME?!" I deduced, using my aura to increase my body temperature and dry my soaked clothes.

"Well no, I mean you DO know how to use aura like everyone else in this school..." Aero countered as he threw the empty metallic bucket across the hallway, "And besides, this was Ghras' idea. So if ya' want to kill someone, it should be her."

"G-Ghras?!" I gulped. My anger just got on an imaginary train and left to _GtfoVille;_ there was no way in hell that I was going to anger that girl. Even if she _did _see me as her friend, I'm certain that she would destroy the shattered moon with my corpse if I pissed her off... Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but so far from knowing Ghras, I'm sure that she could definitely stand against a death stalker with just her rage alone. "A-actually n-never mind that. What are they serving for breakfast?"

"Um...see here's the thing..." nervously began Aero as he ran his hand through his messy gray hair, "the initiation begins in like, 10 minutes..."

"..."

"Um Red? You okay buddy?"

"WHAT?!" I yelled in shock as I sprinted at full speed out of the infirmary to get my weapon stored in one of the lockers, Aero quickly following suite.

"Where's the initiation anyway?!" I asked as we were running through the warmly lit hallways.

"Beacon Cliffs or something like that, relax I know where it is!"

"There's no way we're going to make it in time!"

"Don't worry about it Red, I know a shortcut!"

Even if I didn't know what the shortcut was, I knew Aero – thus I have no doubt in mind that it will end _blowing up_ in my face.

* * *

_**(Meanwhile at Beacon Cliffs) **_

Beacon Cliff was a rather "special" location, as it overlooked the Emerald Forest – a jungle that was inhabited by demons known as Grimm. From the overview, the forest looked like a sea of dancing leaves, performed by the timeless trees. The atmosphere was quiet in a way; only the sound of rustling leaves and occasional howl from whatever was lurking in the forest. The weather itself wasn't horrible either; it was like the past initiations: sunny with a cool breeze. At the edge of the cliff stood the initiate students, the headmaster of Beacon, and a very frustrated witch.

"Ozpin, all the students are accounted for...well except for two." Goodwitch explained, while observing her tablet, to the now-healthy _Supreme Overlord _who was simply enjoying his mug of coffee; his cane firmly planted into the earth.

"Oh? And who are these two students that have neglected their awareness of time?" the headmaster asked in an amused tone. After all, this WAS the first time that there were future students who went missing in action during Beacons' initiation.

"It appears that Mr. Leon-Haert and Eerf are currently not present at the moment sir. Shall we begin the initiation now or should I find th-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Before Goodwitch could finish her suggestion, a faint explosion echoed from Beacon Academy. Moments later, before anyone could react, a certain duo – a sociopath wolf faunus and a socially awkward human – clinging to dear life on a refrigerator that was descending at top speed from the sky, crashed into the site of where the initiation was held.

* * *

_**(Flashback)**_

'_Don't worry' he says..._

'_I have a shortcut!' he says..._

'_Hold on to the cafeteria's fridge' he says..._

I was right; Aero's plan DID end in "blowing up" in my face. I don't know how he did it but as soon as I retrieved my rifle, I followed him all around the school, moving from hallway to classroom, and classroom to hallway. At some point, I think we ran through _Narnia _but that's probably the pizza still working it hallucinations. In the end, we ended up in the cafeteria's kitchen. The wolf faunus made me run around the entire school to get food...

"This is no time to get a snack Aero!"

"I need you to hold on to this refrigerator handle real tight ya' hear?" the wolf faunus told me with an assuring smile as he moved to the other side of the cooling machine. I complied, thinking of what he could possibly be thinking. I mean we were late now, so it wouldn't hurt to see what he could be planning. I didn't know what he was doing as I heard some very strange noises coming from the other side of the refrigerator.

"It's all set! Get ready for the ride of your life Red!" Aero told me in anticipation as he too gripped onto the fridge.

The refrigerator began to violently shake moments later, and my paranoia was beginning to take a hold of me.

"A-Aero what did you do?!"

"PHYSICS!" was all the answer I got before an explosion overwhelmed the entire kitchen, and me and the sociopath ended up flying through the air to well...who knows where at this point.

* * *

_**(Present Time) **_

I'm surprised to say the least; I mean I got propelled into the air by an explosion, held on to life on a flying refrigerator that CRASHED onto the exact location of where the initiation was held, and now here I am: standing with all my limbs intact and not a single shred of my aura wasted to shield myself from the impact. Dust, there's no way that the Laws of Physics could have explained all of that, but then again – this is Aero we're talking about.

I looked over to my right to see Aero busy dusting himself off, behind him was a crowd of awe-struck soon-to-be students and one annoyed witch slowly walking up to us.

"Mr. Eerf and Leon-Haert, it's so nice of you two to arrive to your initiation late. Would you care to explain to me how you two even got here?" a very agitated Goodwitch demanded from us.

"U-um...y-you s-see..." I started, my mind quickly racing through lies.

_Let's see here: freak accident at cafeteria? Insane bomber wanted to kidnap some random raccoon faunus? Toilet malfunctioned...? THINK RED, THINK!_

"Cuz' PHYSICS!" my faunus friend answered while giving the professor a thumb-up of approval. Ms. Goodwitch however simply began rub her temples, indirectly showing her mental face palm regarding Aero's sanity. She immediately brought out her crop and with a wave-like motion, the demolished refrigerator repaired itself and literally flew back to, which I can only assume, Beacon's cafeteria.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a very confused Storme- his seaweed coloured eyes seemed disorientated and his jaw was just hanging open, wondering how me and Aero survived that in the first place. Ghras was standing right beside the lost-in-thought giant who had her arms crossed and was looking elsewhere; if only she hadn't quickly glanced at us with those red eyes of hers that I wouldn't have realized that she was pretending not to care about me and Aero's "grand entrance". I tried to greet them at a distance by a quick wave from my hand, only for the motion to look extremely fidgety and seizure-like. That's what happens when you have poor social skills.

"Is there something wrong Mr. Eerf?" Ms. Goodwitch asked, still keeping her annoyed glare.

"N-no, j-just using m-my aura to f-fix my arm i-is all..." I quickly lied.

"Ahem" a certain headmaster interrupted. "Now that everyone is accounted for, I would like to begin the initiation. Under normal circumstances, I would give you all a speech regarding your self-worth and survival skills, but after witnessing such an _amazing_ display from your soon-to-be classmates, I believe that it isn't required. So I'll get straight to the point: the "rumors" involving teams are true..."

_DEAR MONTY WHY?! LIFE, WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY DO TO MAKE THIS ANY WORSE?!_

"...These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. Therefore, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partners for your entire time here at this academy..."

_FUUUUUUUUU-_

"...After finding your partner, you will move north until you find a temple. From there you will encounter relics; each pair will take one only, and will then proceed back here. You'll be observed and graded during your initiation, however our instructors will not intervene, so try not to die. Please take your positions on the launch pads, and please, do _remember_ to use a landing strategy."

At this moment, I wished that the refrigerator adventure had killed me. I really don't want to spend my entire time here at Beacon with some random person. What if they're clueless like Storme, or fueled with rage like Ghras? Or worse: insane like Aero. Dust, my mind was racing through all these possibilities, and my heart beat was increasing as one-by-one, students were being propelled into the empty skies by the launch pads. To make matters worst...the two cows appeared on my shoulders again.

"_Look Red..." started the red cow, "all you have to do to avoid this partner mess is to kill everyone in that forest. That way you'll have no one to partner with!"_

"_That's just stupid..." argued the white cow, "don't you remember that he's being monitored throughout the entire time? And I do believe that it would reflect badly on his final grade..."_

"_WHO NEEDS GRADES?! ALL YOU NEED IS BLOOD! THE BLOOD OF EVERY SINGLE B-"_

"Um...so no solution for my problem?" I whispered, hoping that they wouldn't disappear from my outburst; I WAS desperate at this point, so I'll listen to imaginary animals on my shoulders if I have to avoid future social interaction.

"_Shouldn't you be worrying about your landing strategy?" asked the white cow._

"_For once I agree with the white idiot..."_

I completely forgot.

Before I could reposition myself, I was flung into the sky with the rushing air colliding against my face. I had no landing strategy at this point – I was flying above the forest, my arms and legs flailing in panic.

"_Here lies Red, the dumbass huntsman-in-training; he snapped his neck from lack of landing strategy"_

* * *

_**(Meanwhile at Beacon Cliffs)**_

Ozpin took a sip from his mug as he chuckled at the sight of the socially awkward boy in the air.

"What's so amusing sir?" Glynda asked as she looked down at her tablet, making sure that the cameras set up within the forest were working.

"Nothing really important, just haven't seen that ah, '_landing strategy_' in a long while. After all, only one other student at the academy has performed that during their initiation." Ozpin mused as he took a sip from his mug.

* * *

_**(Emerald Forest)**_

My mind was set into panic mode as I was flailing violently through the air. I must have looked like an idiot to the other students who were gliding calmly through the blue sea known as the sky. The arguing cows had disappeared, thankfully. I really didn't need an argument involving what part of my body was going to break first.

I descended into the Emerald Forest, crashing through multiple thick tree branches as I fell closer towards the ground. A shock of pain that was sent through my entire body as the trees' arms were colliding against me. This pain managed to get some adrenaline pumping, allowing me to quickly calm down and assess my situation. With reflexes fueled of aura, I broke into a roll once I landed on the ground, greatly reducing the fall damage. Too bad my momentum caused me to roll head first into one of the many trees.

"Ouch..." I groaned as I slowly got up, my right hand rubbing against the region of my forehead where it was pummeled against the rough bark of the tree. I had lost a good chunk of my aura from the entire trip. However, it was through my head injury then I came up with a solution to my social problem.

It was simple: all I had to do was to avoid everyone, get the relic by myself, and run like hell to the cliff whilst avoiding attention.

I grinned in approval to my genius plan as I steadily readied my rifle, Ol'M8, from my shoulder; this forest was infested with Grimm after all. With my weapon in hand, I silently navigated my way north, through the maze of nature that was Emerald Forest.

* * *

_**(Later)**_

It wasn't until I had arrived at an open area that I heard monster-like growls coming from nearby. Judging from the type of growl, I deduced that I had fallen "prey" to a beowulf, which meant that its pack wasn't too far away. I quickly aimed my rifle at the direction of the threatening sound. My sights focused on a shroud of plant-life and leaves.

With an upward motion with my right thumb, which was holding the grip, I flicked a small switch: enabling Ol'M8 to fire in semi-auto. You see, firing in full-auto may seem like a good idea against a lot of enemies, such as a pack of beowulves; however that would quickly deplete my magazine. If video games have taught me anything, it's that unless you have a bottomless clip (a magazine that holds infinite ammo), never spray-and-pray. It's better to fire off 1-3 shots at the vital points then to unload half of your clip at the body of one enemy. It effectively deals with the enemies whilst preserving ammunition, thereby allowing me to take down more enemies. Plus, I absolutely HATE having to deal with the annoying recoil from my weapon. I still remember breaking my arms the first time I fired this thing!

The test of survival began as a black wolf-like demon jumped out from one of the many hiding spots in this forest. With blood-like filled eyes containing the bloodlust for flesh, the beowulf was running at full speed towards me, hoping to dig its claws into my body.

Or rather, it _collapsed_ in from of me as I put a single dust-empowered bullet through its head. As it began to evaporate into nothingness, a loud howl echoed through my ears; the pack was coming.

Instead of one beowulf like the previous time, multiple demon wolves came running out, and man, did they ever look hungry to see me. I took aim and pulled the trigger, killing an approaching grimm on my left. I turned to the right and put 2 shots into another approaching beowulf- one in the chest, and the other in the head. It became a soothing pattern: pull trigger, release, take aim on next target, repeat until everything grimm was dead. The firing of Ol'M8 soon turned into a rhythm, with the falling of Grimm as its bass drop.

I drained my entire magazine, killing a rough estimate of 37 beowulves out of a cartridge that contained 45 bullets. Not my best score in terms of gaming. However, I seemed to have killed a good chuck of the pack that the beowulves decided that I wasn't worth it and the remaining survivors ran back into the deep forest. Of course I wasn't the type of guy who left side quest un-finished, if you know what I mean.

I moved my supporting arm, the left arm, from the forestock (where I support the rifle when aiming) to the end of the barrel of my rifle; where the hybrid shotgun/grenade launcher was attached. Think of it like a smaller gun attached to a bigger gun. Under Ol'M8's barrel was the barrel of the shotgun attachment and under that was the grenade launcher attachment. Even though there were two weapons attached, both of them worked through one trigger. I designed the trigger to be like Ol'M8's main trigger when changing rates of fire; so all I have to do I flick the switch at the smaller handle and I can chose which attachment I need – and for this situation I was going to use the grenade launcher.

I already had a fire-dust empowered shell loaded, so I angled my rifle and released the flame-based explosive onto the beowulves' hiding spot, hoping that it will kill them off. The sound of an explosion rang through my ears, as I witnessed a small portion of the forest beginning to burn. The leaves ignited into brilliant flames as they danced brilliantly in the air before they disappeared into ashes. However when I expected to hear painful howls, I was given unexpected screaming, "voices" in panic.

"OH MY GOD, INSTRUCTOR KHAZIX, I'M ON FIRE!"

"Professor Rengar, please calm down! You're going to get the student to notice us!"

"CALM DOWN?! BITCH I'M BURNING RIGHT NOW! DO YOU HO-"

I quickly reloaded my gun and quickly ran off in the opposite direction of the fire. I am NOT going to get involved in this. The smoke from the flames and the constant screaming of the huntsmen will surely get the attention of all the students in the entire damn forest. That attention will lead to me getting caught, causing my amazing plan to crumble like the burning leaves.

I was running like hell at this point, brushing through vines, jumping over rocks, ducking under branches; I needed to get the relic before anyone found me.

It was a shame, however, that "Life" decided it was time to screw me over once again.

As I continued running, I crashed into certain someone.

_...No...it can't be you...out of everyone here...IT HAD TO BE YOU?!_

"Ya' know we really should stop meeting each other like this..." a familiar voice called to me, excitement in their tone.

My entire plan, my genius plan was just ruined. There were only two ways that my plan could have messed up: First, I somehow die on the way, or second, which I'd rather prefer the first option if it came to be, was that I ended up with a partner. Of course, I ended up with option number two.

The the person I just crashed into... the person who was going to be my partner for my entire time here at Beacon... was none other than the insane sociopath known as Aero Leon-Haert.

"So I guess you and me are partners now!"

_What the Dust did I get myself into?!_


	5. The Terror Returns and the Giant Hunts!

**I DID IT AGAIN! Sorry for stalling the next chapter for almost 2 months to those who actually still follow this fic, but exams we pain to deal with. Plus I got summer school soon (ironically, it's english -_-), but don't fret, its likely you'll get a chapter next week if my scedule doesn't screw up like it usually does. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

I am now convinced that the sadist known as "Life" had a list of people that involved making their lives as miserable as possible; and I was its number one priority.

"I still can't believe we're partners!" an excited Aero exclaimed in joy, "I mean, who would have thought that you and I were going to end up partners. Heh, it totally must be destiny!"

_Yes Aero, it's my destiny to end up forever punished for my non-existent sins..._

"...L-let's just go and get the relic." I mumbled as I walked past the wolf faunus.

"Wait for me partner!" Aero called out as he began to follow me.

We walked in silence for a brief moment, brushing past the branches that hung in front of our faces as we navigated through the thick maze. It felt weird, awkward actually, to walk with the guy who talked non-stop during our first day at Beacon. It was like Aero just realized that he just partnered with a socially awkward loner and every single conversation that he could think of just vanished. This silence didn't feel right, it wasn't peaceful; I decided to be the one to break this silence, despite how painful it felt to do so.

"Um A-Aero?"

"Yes partner?" he cheered in an upbeat tone.

"S-so I was wondering, um, why did you stay behind to wake me up?" I asked. To be fair, I was horrible at conversations, after all I had little-to-no experience with this kind of stuff. But I was curious though. Why DID he stay behind and help me arrive at the initiation? Seriously, even if he stayed behind and didn't want to wake me up, he could have just gone on his magical physics adventure by himself; so why help me?

I honestly believed that a simple question, or rather any question in the matter, would get the wolf faunus to talk like a criminal confessing their crimes. But Aero remained silent; in fact he actually stopped walking. Seriously, was he actually struggling to answer my question?

"Aero?"

"Ursa Major, approaching from our left side..." Aero whispered in a serious tone, his wolf ears twitching as he told me this. I'm a complete idiot to forget that the animal features weren't just for appearances – they actually were extremely useful. This is what separates the humans and faunus: the animal-like characteristics. A regular faunus can see in the dark, hear better, smell better – actually, all their senses are higher than the average human. So it was only natural that he could detect something before I could.

I readied Ol'M8 in the direction my new partner had warned about, my trigger finger ready to let loose. "How close is it?"

"It's only a couple feet away." Aero answered as he guided his right hand into sweater's pocket, as if he was grabbing something, possibly his weapon.

What happen next surprised me; I expected the ursa grimm to slowly emerge from the surrounding plant life. What I saw however was that said grimm jumped out of nowhere, ready to land on me and feast on my demise. Wait, that doesn't make any sense; how the bloody Dust does an ursa have the capability to jump?!

I tried to take aim at my target, but my initial shock of the ursa's "encounter" had stalled enough time for the monster to have an advantage against me; it was going to strike me down.

Suddenly an object blurred right past me and struck at the demon; upon impact, the grimm literally exploded, its remaining pieces began falling onto the ground. Needless to say, I was shocked that such a thing was possible.

_W-what...just happen?!_

The object that annihilated the grimm sped in the opposite direction past me. I turned me head over to see what had just saved me and to my surprise I saw Aero holding from what looked like to be his weapon in his right hand: a yo-yo.

_I was saved by an exploding toy...from my sociopath partner...WHO IN THEIR_ _RIGHT MIND WOULD TRUST THIS GUY WITH THAT KIND OF WEAPON?!_

The yo-yo was a complete surprise, but what shocked me more was that I just realized that Aero actually acted serious for a brief moment. I just faced him, awe struck at what I just witnessed.

"Ya' know, it's very rude to stare at someone for a long period of time." the wolf faunus explained, his usual tone returning.

"I-is t-that a yo-yo?! You d-demolished an ursa major with a yo-yo?!

"His name is _Yang-Yin_ actually," Aero explained as he held out his hand to give me a closer look at his "weapon". Yang-Yin looked like a regular toy, its rim was light gray, and in the center of the rim was a Yin-Yang symbol. "But yes Red, in a simple definition, it's a 'yo-yo'."

"B-but h-how?! I mean...the ursa...j-just went... and the yo-yo was like- "

"Oh, you mean the exploding part? Yeah, that part gets me every time." he answered, "You see, Yang-Yin uses a small amount of my aura to _enhance_ its blows, creating an outward force within its target."

"So it's a double edged sword? I mean you deal a lot of damage, but it takes a toll on your aura too." I concluded from the information he provided for me.

"I guess you can say that. But all I gotta' do is cha-"

Before Aero could finish his explanation, a crashing sound echoed through my ears and a faint vibration from the ground was felt through my feet. Unless the trees in this dense forest could randomly explode, that sound could only be produced through one thing: a conflict between grimm and one of the huntsmen/huntresses.

"C'mon partner, let's go check it out!" Aero exclaimed as he began to run in the direction of where the echo was heard from. With a brief sigh, I followed my partner into the unknown.

_I'm already chained down with a partner. Who knows, maybe I'll die on the way...that would save the hassle of socializing..._

It wasn't hard to find the place of whatever created that sound. All we did was follow a path of destruction; restless trees were knocked down, rocks were shattered. It looked as if the huntsman/huntress in-training had a brief clash between the inhabiting grimm and then proceeded to continue its slaughter. I'm not over-exaggerating- as we continued to navigate through this road of aftershock, the path became progressively more "unstable".

The surrounding environment began to look even worse and the foul stench of evaporating grimm became stronger; who ever went through here had recently slaughtered these monsters, which meant that this person was nearby.

I trembled a bit internally as we got closer to our destination; I was going to meet a new person after all. This is one of the many burdens of the socially-poor: we'll always go through some internal conflict when we have to confront an unknown person, regardless of where we are, or what we're doing. I'm not lying to you. I always freak out when I know that I'm going to have to meet a new face.

Our final destination led us to a river bank, though from what I saw, it very much looked like a torn battlefield. The entire area was filled with the corpses of grimm – beowulves, ursas, boarbatusks, Dust there was even dead Nevermore crashed upon the rocky shores. They all had one thing in common: it looked like they were beaten to death. There weren't any signs of cuts from a sword or holes from a gun- all the grimm had dislocated limbs, and there were crater markings everywhere as if meteorites rained from the sky.

But that was just the background of the grand display; in the very center of the battlefield stood a large black King Taijitu looking upwards towards the sky. Looking up, I saw a green meteor descending upon the snake-like monster. The meteor crashed, erupting a fog-like dust cloud with bits and pieces of rock and debris.

"Um Aero?" I mumbled in awe at the scene.

"Yeah...?" my partner replied with the same expression as me.

"I-I think we should just leave . . . for the temple, I mean. I w-would rather not be here with whoever did '_this_'." To be honest, I was only telling him half of the truth. I really didn't want to interact with a new face. Knowing Aero, he would probably drag me in to whatever kind of mess he creates from that personality of his. Last time he tried to socialize, I ended up in the infirmary with a pair of busted balls. If Ghras was capable of that, I'm truly terrified with the insanely powerful hunter-in-training.

Unfortunately for me, Aero expression's changed from awestruck to sheer excitement; this would ultimately mean one thing: he intends to make a new friend. "Are you kidding Red?!" my partner yelled as if I was the insane one in our "friendship". "We should totally find out who's responsible for this! C'mon, it was so cool to watch! Hey, we should make that guy part of our team!" And with that, the excited wolf faunus ran into the smoke screen of debris.

_You know, after seeing all that, I think it would be better if I stayed alive. Dying just isn't worth it now._

After my brief revelation, I turned around to leave the scene of the battlefield- abandoning my partner in the process. . .

Well, that's what SHOULD have happen. "Life" seemed to be enjoying my discomfort and decided to screw me over, once again.

I only walked a few steps before I felt a thread-like object wrap around my left foot. I quickly looked down I realized that the item that had restricted my movement was none other than Aero's yo-yo-weapon-thing. And before I knew it, I was dragged by force into the unknown.

I'll be honest, being dragged through dirt and stone by a children's toy has probably been one of the lesser moments of my life. Thankfully, my joyride ended as soon as I was sent to Yang-Yin's owner – Aero, whom was staring at from what looked like to be a dead King Taito. The debris fog was beginning to lighten, but it still lingered, making the scenery around us appear like a blur.

"Dragging me across the ground was unnecessary" I complained as the yo-yo began to unwind itself.

"Well, you looked like you couldn't see through all that smoke, so I uh, gave you a _guide_" my partner answered as he gave a helping hand. "But really, can you imagine it? A grimm like this – getting killed by one hit. A meteor to boot as well, ya'know! My weapon can't even do that!"

"You think it's their semblance?"

"Semblance? I thought it was their weapon! No way in all of Remnant that a semblance like that should exist!" It was strange though, either semblance or weapon - it was something that could instantly kill a King Taito in one blow. And that both intimidated and terrified the hell out of me. But a sudden thought just emerged my mind as I was considering the cause of death of this great serpent.

_Is it a semblance that summons meteors to fall from the sky? Or is a weapon; a mortar or missile perhaps? Wait, what if it wasn't a weapon or a semblance? What if that meteor thing that killed the King Taito was actually a hunts-_

"HAAAA-!"

My chain of thought was interrupted as a metal object smashed square in my face. The sheer force sent me flying into the river, as well as immediately defogging the lingering smoke screen. I felt my aura level dropping below the halfway point from just that one strike; oh man, "Life" decided to sucker-punched me in the gut for no reason.

I decided to just lie there - floating tirelessly in the calm flowing stream, allowing my aura to slowly ease the pain around my facial region. Now that I think about it, this is actually the first time since I got to Beacon that I got some time to lie down and relax...even if I did get hammered in the face to obtain relaxation. Besides, I'm sure Aero can handle himself over there; after all, he does have an exploding yo-yo. Yeah, I think I'll just stay here for awhile.

_This is actually soothing in a way...it's like...taking a break after doing... something stressful? Oh Monty, my brain is all over the place right now. Maybe this is "Life's" way of helping me after everything that ha-_

"GREAT MONTY, YOU KILLED RED!" a faint yell that seemed to break my restful silence, forcing me back into my socially awkward reality.

"THAT WAS RED?! B-BUT I T-THOUGHT TH-"a feminine voice responded in pure shock. A girl that knows my name? Yeah, it has to be her...

_I'm never going to get a break, aren't I?_

I pulled myself out of the stand-still river. My entire body was soaked and at this point, I feel as if using my aura to dry them would end up making my situation even worse. Long and behold, I witnessed a panicking Aero and Ghras bickering over one another as I was trudging towards them; although, they don't seem to notice me approaching.

"How was I supposed to know that was Red?! The guy pretty much looks like a grimm!" Ghras yelled out, her eyes were wide in shock. Wait...I look like a grimm?!

"So just because he's wearing black clothing automatically sets your brain to kill?! And why are you making excuses?! You just killed my part-"

"I'm act-actually alive guys..." I spoke up from behind. My interruption caused both of them to look straight at me, their expression in complete awe. Well, Ghras was the one surprised really; Aero looked more horrified at my apparent recovery.

"HOLY SHIT, RED'S A ZOMBIE! WE HAVE TO KILL IT WITH FIRE! KILL IT WITH FIRE!" my partner screamed in fear. At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore. Ghras however, was not amused by my partner's sense of logic. I could tell from that death glare she was giving him.

"Don't mind my partner. He's always like this..." I told her as if this was the first time we met each other. The small girl looked away from my partner, who seemed to be now running around in circles proclaiming that the zombie apocalypse had begun, and fixed her stare towards me. Her rose-coloured eyes seemed to be filled with concern. It's that, or either she's currently having a mental debate on how I managed to survive being flung like a rag doll.

"Um...are you okay Red? I-I thought you were a grimm and I...no, Aero's right, I shouldn't be making excuses..." She lowered her head, like she did before on our first day at Beacon, "I'm sorry Red."

Is it normal to feel awkward when a girl, who just sent you flying into a river and falcon punched you in the testicular region, apologizes to you?

"Um...I'm fine really,"-I snap my jaw back into place before continuing-"accidents ha-happen you know?" That was a lie, accidents like this should never happen. I'm just saying this to make her feel better so this awkward feeling can just die.

"Good, maybe next time, you wear something that _doesn't_ make you look like a grimm, you idiot!" Ghras exclaimed out of nowhere, her aggressive mood returning. She buried her face within her green scarf, which I could only hope that she was doing that to hide her guilt.

_...Didn't you even say that you shouldn't make excuses? And I don't even look like a grimm!_

After our brief conversation, Aero ran back towards us, his wolf ears drooped from exhaustion. "I _*pant* _think that *_pant*_ I've calmed down now *_pant*. _Just give *_pant*_ me a second to *_pant* _catch my breath..." - my partner took in a large gulp of air before continuing. "Alright, now that my brain is working properly, I need to ask you something Ghras."

Ghras' lock of blonde hair that defied gravity twitched slightly to the left as if she was expecting something stupid and annoying. Then again, it WAS Aero who was asking the question.

"Can you care to explain all this?" Aero asked with both his arms extended outward to his sides; he wanted to know what created this mess of a battlefield. "Was this a work of your semblance or your weapon? Either way, I'm totally recruiting you for Team Aero."

Oh Monty, looks like Aero dun' goofed at the last part...

Ghras gave out a long sigh into her scarf before she explained in the calmest way possible, "Aero, I see you as friend, I really do. But Dust, sometimes I just want the beat the living aura out of you! Who in Monty's name made you leader?! If anything, I should be the one who leads this team!"

_To be fair Ghras, I wouldn't exactly call this a team..._

"Hey don't complain to me, we're just going by majority vote here." Aero replied nonchalantly with both hands in the air to represent that he meant no harm.

"Oh?! And just who is this 'majority'?!"

"Well so far: it's me and Red!" he happily replied. Ghras immediately fixed her burning eyes towards me as if I had sided with Aero long before we met each other. And oh man, did she ever look mad! If there was anything that I learned from Ghras, it was that you should stay out of her way when she's pissed off...too bad she's easily pissed off.

"No, no, no, no, I have nothing to do with this! It was all his idea!" I yelled while violently shaking my head left and right.

"Red how could you?! I thought we were partners!" Aero cried as if I had stabbed him in the heart.

"...Yo-you two can di-discuss the leadership role once this is all over o-okay?" I trembled. "But s-seriously Ghras, what exactly happen here?"

"What's not to understand? The headmaster said that we were being monitored and graded, so I decided that the best possible way to get a good performance record was to kill a lot grimm!" she answered as if she just solved the cure for all the diseases in the world.

"...What?"

"Ya' know Ghras that sounds a bit insane after looking at all the damage you caused..."

"Well, it started off with a couple beowulves and ursas, but then they started to run away, so I began chasing after them! One thing led to another, and I ended up here: a nesting ground for grimm. Heh, it WAS a nesting ground for grimm until I showed up..." she continued, confidence searing within her voice.

Well, it was official now. Ghras just ranked number one on my what-to-fear list; I can't believe it but social interaction just got dropped to rank two.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't explain exactly how you performed such a feat!" my partner yelled, "C'mon Ghras, was it your semblance or weapon?!"

"Oh sure and while I'm at it, I might as well tell you my entire life story!" the short girl replied sarcastically. "Fine, if you really want to know how I killed all these grimm, I just used my weapon. You know, the thing that every hunter uses?" She reached behind her back and pulled out a frying pan.

Wait...WHAT THE DUST?! The weapon she used to kill all these grimm...was nothing more than some kitchen tool: a frying pan?! Well I thought Aero's weapon was unique, but Ghras' just screams individuality.

_What is this- I d-don't even, I mean- I can't even comprehend...WHAAAAAAT?!_

"Y-you mean to t-tell me..." I began, my left eye twitching from the lack of comprehension, "that you did ALL of this with..._that?"_

In response to that, her "weapon" changed; the handle bar extended its length to greater than Ghras' height. Gracefully, she spun the frying pan between her fingers before impaling the end of the handle into the ground. "Yes Red, I killed all these grimm with my trusty-"

"Frying pan!" Aero interrupted as he broke into a hysterical laughter. "Oh Monty, you killed them with a frying pan! HA HAHAHAHA..." My partner was laughing so hard to the point that he had to hold his arms around his rib cage. Yes, Aero was laughing that hard.

Ghras didn't seem to take Aero's enjoyment too well; her floating lock of golden hair was twitching ever so furiously as if there was an earthquake occurring around us.

"_Ferrum Nex _is not a frying pan!" the petite girl exploded in annoyance. "It's a hybrid staff capable of extending up to one kilometer! Besides, I bet my _Ferrum Nex_ can totally annihilate whatever excuse of a weapon you have! Pfft, I bet you use some gun/melee hybrid like everyone else here!"

The moment she said that, Aero immediately stopped laughing and looked Ghras dead in the eyes. "Heh, so you think I use a hybrid weapon; like a sniper rifle that can change into scythe? The jokes on you, cuz' my _Yang-Yin_ could win against your staff!" He revealed his yo-yo to Ghras in triumph of having the better weapon...well that's what he believed anyways.

However, the moment Ghras got a good look at his so-call superior weapon, she began to die in laughter.

"Hey what's so funny?!"

"Your weapon is a yo-yo?! Oh man, that's hilarious! At least my weapon can turn into a staff!" Ghras cried out from her joyful laughter. I thought Aero was laughing was hard, but Ghras was just rolling on the floor unable to contain her merriment.

"I'll have you know that this _yo-yo_ is capable of creating explosions! Oh, and what was that last bit you just said there? I think it was you admitting that your _Ferret Hex_ is a frying pan!"

"Just sh-shut up! And for Dust's sake Aero, it's _FERRUM NEX_! Hey Red, decide for us! Which weapon is superior?!" The look in her eyes seemed to appear more pleading than the usual angry glare she usually has.

_Why do I have to get involved for everything?_

"L-look, I'm just the guy with the assault rifle here..." I sighed feeling as if this argument has gone for an eternity so far, "if you ask me, both of your um, _weapons_ are unique so they can't be compared..."

Aero gave out a long sigh before he declared, "Ghras, this is getting us nowhere! C'mon let's go find someone else who actually has an opinion, not like 'Mr. Assault Rifle' over there."

_Mr. Assault Rifle?!_

Ghras nodded for once with Aero's suggestion. She retracted _Ferrum Nex_' handle until it looked like an ordinary frying pan, and then she sheathed it behind her back. "I still have to find a partner anyways. And who knows Aero, maybe 'Mr. Assault Rifle' can create his own opinion during the search."

"It's Red...my name is Red..." I quietly mumbled.

Ghras began to move north, however my partner decided to stop to her. "Woah there Ghras, where do you think you're going?" he asked with a hand over her shoulder.

"To the temple, where else?! If everyone is going go there, we might was well too!"

"Ah, but Ghras," Aero explained as he began to slowly shake his head in disapproval, "you don't have a partner remember? Can you imagine how awkward it be if the students at the temple asked who your partner was? They'll probably think you're some anti-social shut-in."

In response to Aero's deduction, Ghras immediately buried her face in her torn scarf. I swear, I think I noticed her cheeks flushing red a bit.

"S-so where do we go then?!" the small girl muffled behind her scarf.

"We go in the opposite direction of course! I'm sure that there's some idiot who hasn't partnered up too, ya'know?"

"Are you calling me an idiot!?" She yelled, her face no longer covered by her scarf.

I mentally face palmed myself for Aero's logic and Ghras' impulsive reasoning.

"Now Ghras, instead of beating me to death with your 'frying pan', shouldn't we find you a partner and end our little argument?"

"F-fine, let's go!" She grumbled before we turned away from us and began walking, quite angrily mind you, in the south direction.

Of course, we had to follow too.

We've been walking in silence for a good 10 minutes now, and so far we've encountered nobody. Seriously, not even a single grimm popped up out of nowhere, which sort of made sense since Ghras probably performed mass genocide in this forest.

Ghras didn't seem to enjoy walking any further since she turned to face Aero and yelled out, "Aero we've been walking fo-"

"Something's coming..." the gray haired faunus interrupted in a serious tone as he took out _Yang-Yin_, "I don't know what exactly it is, but I can tell you that it's a grimm, one very big grimm approaching from the front..."

Ghras and I both readied our weapons, waiting for whatever monstrosity was coming our way. The mere seconds of silence felt like an eternity.

The bushes began to rustle and out came a certain blue haired individual running straight towards us.

"I think that wolf-brain of yours isn't functioning properly Aero. How on Remnant did you sense that Storme was a grimm?!" Ghras was giving my partner a dead-panned stare as she was telling him this. "Hey Storme, over here!"

"No...I can feel it. It's comi-"

"RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUUUUN!" Storme screamed as he was running towards us. It was at that moment that I felt a strong vibration echo beneath us.

Aero was right.

Suddenly, the wild life behind Storme was demolished: the timeless trees collapsing and a literal earthquake began to erupt. In front of the destruction appeared the biggest grimm I have only ever seen in video games.

Its physique was ape-like: an enormous torso that was covered by sturdy bone armor in the front, abnormally long spikes grew out of its back, huge black arms with bone plating acting as makeshift gauntlets, and I kid you not, its legs were so unreasonable small that it was certainly impossible for it to even stand up. It advanced by slamming its arms into the earth, creating quakes on impact, swinging its body forward and landing on its feet; the cycle would then repeat. Indeed, it was a rare species of grimm: _Corpseback_.

The worst part of this encounter was that said Corpseback was hunting down a panicking Storme, and since he was coming towards us that meant that we were all on that monster's what-to-kill list.

"Run feet!" Aero yelled out in his usual non-serious tone, as he began to retreat in the opposite direction.

I was about to follow my partner's decision until I got a glimpse of Ghras' face: a cold-blooded grin and burning eyes filled with adrenaline, her _Ferrum Nex_ firmly gripped in both her hands. Dear Monty, she actually wants to fight that thing?!

"Gh-Ghras?! A-a-are you insane?!" I yelped.

She turned her head to face me, her grin now transformed into a sadistic smile and her eyes gave off extreme killing intent. "Not insane, but I'm definitely eccentric when it comes to fighting!" she answered me as she broke into a sprint towards the ape grimm, determined to break every single bone within its gigantic body.

Well that's what Ghras intended to do, but fortunately for me, a fleeing Storme charged head-first into the little girl and managed to get her over his shoulder. If there wasn't a grimm coming to crush us, I'd definitely assume that this was a kidnapping.

"Wh-wha?! Storme let g-"

"NO TIME TO FIGHT! RUN DAMMIT, RUUUUUUUUUUN!" was what echoed to me as the blue-haired giant ran past me.

And with that I broke into a mad sprint.

_If I make it out of here alive, I'm definitely going to try my hardest to avoid these people..._

* * *

**Btw, if you're a guest reviewer, please give yourself some sort of alias to go by. (Ex, This fic sux -Xx_420qUACKscop3BlaZe1T_xX)**


	6. When You're too Tired to Run, You Fight!

**(Flashback; Third-Person)**

Storme Bleu wasn't much when it came to using common sense. After all, it took a complete stranger, who was now his friend, to point out that a vending machine was broken even though there was an enormous sign that said so. Yes, if there was an elephant in a room, he would be the last one to realize it. If there was some important notice regarding the daily lives of everyone in Remnant, he would be the last one to find out.

If anyone actually paid attention to him, they would assume he was extremely ignorant and dense. But in false illusion that's reality: Storme was just clueless to everything around him; not that it actually bothered him. He would always find out later than sooner.

It started out completely fine: got launched off a cliff, crashed (and tore down) straight into a tree, and wandered around aimlessly.

Now everything turned sour when his lack of awareness became effective: he went straight into the restricted area of Emerald Forest even though said area was walled off by Beacon's staff of expert hunters. There were even warning signs that repeated across all of the area which all said the same thing: '**RESTRICTED AREA: **_STAY AWAY OR GOODWITCH WILL KILL YOU IF YOU SURVIVE!'_

He somehow managed to get through the impenetrable walls and failed to notice the signs.

He kept searching for the temple or another person who would become his partner, but he was alone, of course, in the area that the prestigious combat Academy had made sure to keep off from any wandering travelers or students.

He should have turned back if he actually noticed the bones of old huntsmen and huntresses scattered all around the dead soil or the eerie silence of the non-existent wild life.

But alas, Storme's lack of common sense was as strong as Aero's talent for advanced physics. Well, that's what he pieced to together from what he just witnessed when he was at the cliff anyways. Seriously, he wished that was on the refrigerator too!

He traversed a bit deeper into the restricted zone - however his body suddenly decided it was time to "call nature". And if anyone else knew Storme as good as he knew himself, they would be aware that he had the worst bladder in all of Remnant; there was no way he could control his fluid for the entire initiation.

He gave a quick check of his surroundings and made sure that he wasn't vulnerable for when he was about to do his business. Storme ran over to a nearby area where the soil was black and white branchless trees grew.

And then he let loose, relieving himself from the fluidly curse and let a wave of relaxation wash over him. Indeed, he felt majestic.

That feeling quickly faded away the moment the dark earth beneath him began to rumble furiously and two enormous black arms sprouted from the ground. The surface he was standing on began rumble and slowly rise, forcing Storme to find a new position in order to get look at his current situation.

With its "arms" planted into the surface, the "ground" rose until its shape became monstrous revealing a black ape-like giant covered with bone armor. Behind its faceless white mask, Storme could feel its sheer hatred and anger.

It was a grimm he had never before seen in his entire life. Although, he felt as if this was a new species of grimm and as such he felt entitled to name the unknown beast: Bertha. To Storme, the name felt right with a giant that was. . .

But then the cold realization hit him: he literally pissed on the back of Bertha!

"N-nice Bertha, n-n-nice b-b-boy..." he trembled as he slow began to back away from the giant. "S-sorry for taking a leak on your back...heh...heh...he-"

"GRROOAH!"

"OK TIME TO RUN!" Storme shrieked as broke into a sprint into the opposite direction.

If only he knew that he would soon encounter a group of familiar individuals.

* * *

**(Present Time)**

If I could describe running for my life in one word it would be: refreshing. Yeah I'm serious; it feels exhilarating to have the wind rush by your face as your running away from a gorilla demon. Way better than the usual stationary aim-and-fire; it's get boring after the endless amount of weak grimm encounters.

It would have felt even better if it wasn't fo-

"Dammit Storme, let me go! I have to fight it!" pleaded an upset Ghras as she repeatedly hit him in the back, as if she was some child begging her parent to stay at the park longer. However, said person didn't even seem fazed by the little Terror's strength.

"There is no way in hell I am letting you fight Bertha!" he replied to her while maintaining his pace.

_Bertha?! You named a Corpseback Bertha?!_

"Bertha?! The name of that grimm is Bertha?! Who names a giant monster Bertha?!" Aero called out from ahead_._ Leave it to his enhanced faunus hearing to pick up the weirdest of conversations.

"I discovered it, so I have the right to name it!" the blue-haired answered back.

"That's actually a Corpseback, Storme, and it was discovered 50 years ago..." I exclaimed from behind, "but he's r-right Ghras, you really shouldn't fight that thing!"

"Why no-"

"Hey partner, how do you know so much about this grimm?!" my faunus partner demanded.

"I...er...kind of...lost against it multiple times..." I grumbled with bitterness, the memories of the _GAME OVER_ screen itching into my mind. God damn boss doing straight 9k to my party, it's not my fault that they're poorly equipped and under-leveled!

"WHHHHAAAAAT?!" they all yelled out in unison. I mentally face palmed myself for my screw up. I was talking about getting my ass getting beat in a video game; they on the other hand, assumed that I had to fight these things everyday as if I was some sort of legendary huntsman.

"H-how are you s-still alive?!" Storme questioned at my wellbeing and possibly my sanity.

"Um..." dear Monty, this is going to be so awkward when I correct myself about this. "When I said that I l-lost against it multiple times...I was talking about um...losing in a ...video game...You know, _Genesis Reality IV, _second boss?"

"..." that was the answer that they all returned to me. It got so bad that Aero even stopped running just to give me a _What-the-hell_ look and Ghras just face palmed as she hung onto Storme's shoulder.

See, this is why the socially awkward never talk about ourselves; we always end up being labeled as weird.

"So...Red," Storme began in a nervous tone, "you did end up beating it, right?"

"Y-yeah..." I answered. I found that to be an insult really. I mean, after years of living a shut-in life: to not overcome a virtual challenge would be a disgrace to all socially-weak gamers in all of Remnant.

"A video game and real life are two completely different things!" Ghras cried out.

"Let me hear him out Ghras," he pleaded, "Red, does that thing have any weaknesses? Like an Achilles heel or something?"

"W-well, its entire body is like a tank...b-but its mask is its weakest part. S-so if we can break that then..." I stopped midway after realizing Storme's plan. "Y-you don't intend t-to fight that thing, are you?!" So far, I knew that Ghras was insane, but I didn't actually think that Storme, a guy who lacked common sense, was violently mental as well.

"Well, we can't exactly run forever ya'know?" Aero exclaimed as he was now running beside me. Seriously, the wolf actually waited for us to catch up. Well it's either that or he was reconsidering me as a partner and friend; I wouldn't blame the guy. I mean, I wouldn't want to be friends with myself either. "And I'd rather go down fighting than running."

Dust, not you too Aero!

"Majority rules...'Mr. Assault Rifle'." the blonde grinned at the last part, "So come on, spill it!"

"I-if you actually wa-"

"We," Aero interrupted, "as in you're going to be part of this, partner!"

You know, I'm actually more in favor for anarchy over democracy at this point.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, "If _we_ actually want to fight um, _Bertha_, then we should do it in an open area. We'll get wrecked if we fight here, an area with little space. Like I said before, its mask is its weakest point, so we sh-"

"But Red," Storme questioned, "this entre place is a forest! Where are we goi-"

"The river bank!" Aero and Ghras yelled out in unison. I couldn't see Storme's face, but I could only assume it was pure confusion.

"C'mon it's just a little bit up ahead!" my partner exclaimed.

"Do we even have a plan?!" I yelled out. It was an honest question really. My usual tactic is to just put bullets in the enemy until they die, but against Bertha, I don't think it would be that simple.

"Hey partner, you got a grenade loaded in Ol'M8?"

"A-Aero, t-that's not going work! Its armor is-"

"Just launch it into the sky!" the faunus cried.

"Aero, Bertha is behind us, not above us!"

"Just trust me!"

My instinct told me to ignore the wolf's plan; to distance away from him with the rest of society. It told me to just keep running and stay alive. But at the same time, in the darkest corner of my mind, was a faint voice. I didn't know whose it belonged to, but it was pleading with me. It wanted me to listen to him; telling me to take his metaphorical hand and have faith in hi-

_Aero, I swear to Monty, if you're using some mind-alteration semblance: I am going shoot you in the foot, forcibly remove the bullet, and shoot you in the same spot again..._

Putting what little faith I have into my partner, I became stationary and grabbed my rifle over my shoulder. I aimed it into the empty sky, feeling the sun's harsh glare into my eyes, and pulled the trigger, unleashing a shell full of fire dust into the air.

Seeing the projectile in motion, the wolf faunus whipped his yo-yo at the explosive.

Now what happened next put me into utter confusion. First, the sight a yo-yo's string, glowing a bright neon-white, extending all the way to a live shell that's already 50 ft in motion. Second, and although I'm not a genius, I'm certain that when a grenade explodes it makes a loud sound. I mean the presence of a fiery explosion and bits of falling shrapnel are what my eyes were detecting right now, but the distinct noise of a beowulf giving birth to a bulldozer was missing.

Just as things couldn't get any weirder, the pursuing Corpseback, known as Bertha, violently reacts with the explosion. Seriously, it literally stopped in its tracks and covered its entire head with one of its massive arms. A loud, yet muffled, roar was let out from the beast.

"W-what just happen?!" Storme asked Aero as he just stood that in awe at the sight that was in front of him.

Well, Storme was in awe, but I'm certain that Ghras was annoyed as ever since the only view she had was his back and the green scenery of trees and vines.

"Hey, what's going on over there?! Storme, let me down!" she demanded as she began to flail her legs like a child not wanting to go to the dentist.

"Oh yeah I didn't tell you guys yet!" Aero declared, "See, my semblance is sound manipulation; I can alter the frequency, pitch, and well pretty much anything involving the properties of a noise. Though, I can only use it if I have contact with the object that makes the sound, that's why I had to use Yang-Yin as an extension. Anyways, all grimm have a negative reaction to a certain identical frequency that only their ears can pick up. So I just changed the grenade's explosion to that frequency and now Bertha over there is disorientated!"

"Why Red's grenade though? Couldn't you just yell or clap your hands?" the blue-haired wondered.

"Because physics, my dear friend." the wolf answered in a nervous tone, "Ya'know, sound waves, vibrations, mediums, Doppler, and all that stuff."

I would have believed that answer only if he didn't avert his eyes away from us; it kind of makes you look like a liar, but I'm not a physics expert so I can't really deject his claim.

"Then let's hurry up and kill it!" Ghras yelled out, now squirming to get out of Storme's grip over her body.

"Let's not," Aero suggested, "well, not here anyways. You heard Red; it would be suicidal to fight it here. Besides disorientation is the first phase, the second is extreme violent behavior. So if you think that grimm wants to kill us for sport, now it definitely wants us buried six feet under out of a grudge."

"So all you did was make it even more angry?!" Storme cried.

"I only did it so I could have more time to plan it out – 15 minutes to be exact at this moment. There are some unknown variables that I need to have covered if we want to get back to Beacon with our limbs intact." Aero answered in a serious tone, before he turned around and ran towards the riverbank. We followed as well, not wanting to stay once Bertha regains its senses.

This was strange, it really was. Seriously the Aero I knew from yesterday and the Aero running with me are two completely different people. One of them is a sociopath, always managing to somehow getting me unconscious or in awkward senerios. The other behaves and sounds like a tactician! I never would have believed that Aero, the guy who sent me to the infirmary twice, would use the word "variables" and "plan" in the same sentence, in a serious tone for Dust's sake!

* * *

**(Riverbank)**

When we arrived back at the torn battlefield all the grimm had evaporated into nothingness, leaving behind empty craters and shattered stones. It wasn't so much of a sight to see once you've already seen (and experienced) it. Storme however, being the new party, was awe-struck at the scenery around him.

"Wh-what happen here?! Was there a war I wasn't told about?!" he cried as he looked around at the past destruction. "D-did anyone die? Were the first-years involved too?!"

"Heh, aside from a lot of grimm, nobody died Storme. And yes, a first-year was involved – in fact; she single handedly did all of this." My partner answered.

"Wh-wh-WHAT?! W-who...JUST WHO IS SHE?!"

"You're carrying her over your shoulder..." I pointed out.

It was at that moment that the blue-haired giant immediately grew pale, his seaweed eyes widening. "Y-you're joking r-right? T-there's no way t-that s-she could do that..." he trembled in a quiet voice.

"Storme...," Ghras began in a pleasant tone, "I'll say it one last time: _Please. Let. Me. Down_..."

"Yes boss!" he blurted as he put her down. However, when I meant "put her down", I meant that Storme quite literally threw her face-first into ground.

_Well Storme's dead now. I wonder what I should write on his grave stone... maybe... "Here Lies Storme Bleu, He was Killed by Bertha"...yeah, that would save him the humiliation of having his heart ripped out by a vertically challenged girl. _

As Ghras slowly got herself up, I was beginning to feel a surge of aura increase within her. "You know Storme..." she began as she brought her Ferrum Nex into its staff form, "didn't anyone teach you manners when it comes to treating girls?"

"Now look here Ghras...i-it was just an accident!" he explained as he slowly began to take small steps back. "L-let's talk about it, ok?"

The blonde's face was exactly the same face when she encountered the Corpseback: the eyes of the devil and the smile of a psychopath. "Hm, there really isn't anything to talk about other than where you want me strike fir-"

"Look, we really don't have much time for this right now..." Aero sighed as he stopped the short girl with a grip over her shoulder. "We need to put down a pissed off Bertha, and I'm certain that an unconscious or dead Storme will make reduce our chances of survival."

"I-if you're that mad Ghras, maybe you should d-direct it towards Bertha?" I weakly suggested from behind my partner's shoulder. Yes, I'm 100% certain that I look like a coward by hiding behind my partner, but can you blame me? The girl can practically send me to Death's doorstep if she wanted to.

"Hmph..." she replied as she began to rub her fingers between her rag of a scarf. "Just make sure you stay out of my way. I-I don't want any of you to get caught up in my attacks..."

I wasn't exactly sure if the last bit she just said was a threat or sheer concern for us, I was hoping for the later.

"Alright, we'll start with you partner..." the gray-haired began, "how many grenades you got left?"

I brought up my remaining supply from my sweater's pocket: two explosive shells rested in my palm. "Just a fire and ice dust shell left." It was a bit awkward to say the most, I mean I'm usually armed with at least a dozen of these, but I assumed the initiation was just us killing only one grimm and we'd be done.

He simply nodded at my current arsenal and walked towards Storme. Aero then began to inspect him; walking around him and even doing a pat-down to check for items of the sort. "Where is your weapon?" the wolf asked as he continually searched him.

"You could have just asked man..." a somewhat embarrassed Storme answered.

He raised his right arm, and the silver cuff around his wrist began to melt into a clear liquid, yet still maintain its shape. The now-liquid accessory moved to its user's hand where it expanded and began to change shape. It grew until it was at least the size of the blue-haired giant and clear chain grew out of the bottom-end. When it finished its transformation, it began to solidify into stainless silver steel.

My left eye began to twitch as I gazed upon his weapon; I just couldn't comprehend it. With the massive shank gripped by a single hand, it rested effortlessly over his shoulder as its chain hung lifelessly below. Storme Bleu's weapon was an anchor. A tool that's used by ships to prevent movement.

"..." That was our reactions to his reveal.

"At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore..." Ghras stated as she face-palmed herself.

"What?" Storme questioned. "You know most of the time when I show off my _Grande Marina_ I usually get some more 'excited' reactions. But this is actually the first time somebody was actually silent."

"My partner uses a yo-yo and Ghras uses a frying pan, you're not that special..." I quietly mumbled to myself.

"What did you say Red?" the blonde asked politely.

"Huh?! Oh nothing... just um...thinking about Bertha..." I lied.

Storme must have gotten the wrong intentions because he assured, "Listen Red, if you're having doubts about my weapon - then you shouldn't worry about it! Grande Marina may be light as water, but it's as strong an Atlas warship ramming straight into you! Watch," – he hurled the silver anchor at a far away rock that stood at the edge of the river, at least twice the size of Storme. At it flew in the air the chain attached to the ring began to extend, and I noticed that he had a light grip at the end of the chain. Grande Marina completely shattered the stone, tearing through its very foundation. It would have continued in its path of destruction if its owner didn't yank the endlessly growing chain back, sending the massive weight back towards him.

"And if you're still having second thoughts, then let me show you my semblance!" he declared.

The anchor began vibrate vigorously and a faint hissing sound began to form from the mass. Seconds later, Grande Marina gave life to blue sparks of electricity; a violent blue, now glowing from the anchor.

He flung the electrifying anchor upwards into the sky, a brilliant blue chain growing as its distance increased. The blue-hair swung his arm downwards, forcing the shining mass to dive straight into the earth. A small explosion was created upon impact, and flickers of lightning briefly suspended in its wake.

"Lightning enhancement – that's my semblance, _Blitz_!" he yelled out in all of this.

Oh man, he's one of those guys who actually names semblances. I've got nothing against it, but I find it so embarrassing when people just scream it out in the open.

"Bravo Storme, bravo. However..." Aero said as he was slowly clapping at the performance. "Don't take this the wrong way big guy, but the ruckus you made with that anchor of yours just broke Bertha out of her daze – planning time is now cut in half – we got four minutes left..."

"O-oh...sorry guys...my bad..." a downcast Storme mumbled as he stared down at the ground.

"Hey, don't worry about Storme!" Ghras assured as she poorly attempted to get her hand on his shoulder (but failed of course), "even if wolf-brain doesn't come up with a plan, we could always go for the straight-forward approach!"

"Um...partner?" I nervously began, "can't we just use your semblance again and stall for more time?"

"Sorry I can only use that frequency once – Bertha's body is filled with whatever grimm use for adrenaline at this point; it'll just shrug it off and still come straight towards us." The faunus answered, "and I _kinda _have a plan made - given what we have so far ya'know?

"Kinda?! What do you mean by _'kinda'_?!" Ghras demanded as she forcibly grabbed my partner by the collar.

"W-well..." Aero sheepishly began, "After seeing Storme's weapon, I'm just sayin' that he just hurl that thing at Bertha's face. And if that doesn't work – well, I'll think of something on the spot...hopefully."

_Oh dear Monty, we are going to die...we are really going to die..._

"But do really think that it'll wor-" Storme was abruptly cut off by a monstrous echo followed by a small trembling quakes.

Speak of the devil, big bad Bertha has arrived.

Said grimm made quite an entrance – actually, it really wasn't much considering that Bertha just charged through or trampled the lush wildlife in its path; pretty much the same approach during our first encounter. Now it was at a distance away from us, which became decreasingly smaller as it advanced towards us.

"Don't just stand there hurry up and through that thing!" Ghras yelled out.

The blue-haired giant did what he was told, empowering his anchor with his Blitz, he threw the Grande Marina straight at Bertha facial region. With the previous show that Storme presented to us, I was certain that a direct hit with that should send Bertha to whatever afterlife grimm go to after dying.

Well, that's what SHOULD have happened, but none of us (except for Aero, probably) expected what would have happened next.

Bertha stopped in its tracks, and with its enormous arm, it back-handed the electrifying projectile away before it could reach its destination. To stop moving, despite enraged and pumped with adrenaline-crack, to protect one's personal being? That could only mean one thing: Bertha was intelligent.

"Well we're screwed." I blurted out loud.

"Actually..." Aero began in a nervous laugh, "...remember when I said that I _kinda_ had a plan? Well I sorta' lied about that – I actually got it all planned out. I just wanted to see Storme throw that thing again – I mean, just look at it- it's just so cool!"

Monty, he's gone back to sociopath Aero...

"Aero if we make it out of this alive..." Ghras grumbled as I felt her surging aura become increasingly darker, "...remind me to kill you later."


End file.
